DC Public Library System

Revolutionary atmosphere, the story of the Altitude Wind Tunnel and Space Power Chambers, by Robert S. Arrighi

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

federal national government publication

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Revolutionary atmosphere

bibliography

703906658

by Robert S. Arrighi

SP-2010-4319NASA Center history series

the story of the Altitude Wind Tunnel and Space Power Chambers

"A massive, but little-known, facility in Cleveland, Ohio, played a vital role in the U.S. development of jets, in the training of NASA's first astronauts, and in making NASA's first missions beyond Earth orbit possible. Revolutionary Atmosphere tells the story of this obscure giant. Starting life in 1944 as the Altitude Wind Tunnel, it was the first wind tunnel that could study aircraft engines under realistic flight conditions; and it was enormous-in its original configuration, it could even accommodate full-size aircraft. The tunnel could not only simulate the high speeds of jet aircraft, like other wind tunnels, but could simulate the pressures and temperatures of higher elevation flight."--Publisher description

Premonition : the need for an engine tunnel (1936-1940) -- Building a new type of tunnel design and construction (1940-1943) ; Dual wartime mission : the World War II years (1944-1945) ; Age of the axial flow : alternate wartime mission (1944-1945) ; Will to power : the postwar era (1946-1949) ; A period of transition : big engines to small rockets (1950-1958) ; Space is the place : project Mercury (1959-1960) ; Metamorphosis : wind tunnel to vacuum chamber (1961-1963) ; Space power chambers join the fray : early centaur period (1963-1964) ; Ad astra per aspera : the Centaur/Surveyor missions (1964-1967) ; Alter destiny : Centaur's big payloads (1965-1975) ; Where the wave finally broke : the idle years (1975-2005) ; Death knell : the final days of the altitude wind tunnel/space power chambers (2005-2009)