Northrop HL-10
HL-10 | |
---|---|
Role | Lifting body technology demonstrator
|
Manufacturer | Northrop |
Designer | Langley Research Center |
First flight | 22 December 1966 |
Retired | 17 July 1970 |
Status | On display, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center |
Primary user | NASA |
Number built | 1 |
The Northrop HL-10 was one of five US heavyweight
Development
Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and
Operational history
After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on December 22, 1966, with research pilot
The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the
During a typical lifting body flight, the B-52—with the research vehicle attached to the pylon mount on the right wing between the fuselage and inboard engine pod—flew to a height of about 45,000 feet (14,000 m) and a launch speed of about 450 mph (720 km/h).[1]
Moments after being dropped, the XLR-11 was lit by the pilot. Speed and altitude increased until the engine was shut down by choice or fuel exhaustion, depending upon the individual mission profile. The lifting bodies normally carried enough fuel for about 100 seconds of powered flight and routinely reached from 50,000 to 80,000 feet (15,000 to 24,000 m) and speeds above Mach 1.[1]
Following engine shutdown, the pilot maneuvered the vehicle through a simulated return-from-space corridor into a pre-planned approach for a landing on one of the lakebed runways on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards. A circular approach was used to lose altitude during the landing phase. On the final approach leg, the pilot increased his rate of descent to build up energy. At about 100 feet (30 m) altitude, a "flare out" maneuver dropped air speed to about 200 mph (320 km/h) for the landing.[1]
Unusual and valuable lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. During the early phases of the Space Shuttle development program, lifting bodies patterned on the HL-10 shape were one of three major types of proposals. These were later rejected as it proved difficult to fit cylindrical fuel tanks into the always-curving fuselage, and from then on most designs focused on more conventional delta wing craft.
- HL-10 pilots
- John A. Manke — 10 flights, 7 powered flights
- William H. Dana — 9 flights, 8 powered flights
- Jerauld R. Gentry — 9 flights, 2 powered flights
- Peter C. Hoag — 8 flights, 7 powered flights
- Bruce Peterson — 1 flight, 0 powered flights
Unrealized space flight
According to the book "Wingless Flight", by project engineer R. Dale Reed, the HL-10 was considered to fly into space in the early to mid-1970s. Following the cancellation of the Apollo moon project, Reed realized that there would be substantial Apollo hardware left over, including several flight-rated command service modules (CSM) and Saturn V rockets.[2]
The proposal was to add an ablative heat shield, reaction controls, and other additional subsystems needed for crewed spaceflight to the HL-10. The now space-rated vehicle would have then been launched in the space for the Lunar Module on a Saturn V launch vehicle with an Apollo CSM. Once in Earth orbit, it was planned that a robotic extraction arm would remove the HL-10 from the rocket's third stage and place it adjacent to the crewed Apollo CSM spacecraft. One of the astronauts would then spacewalk from the Apollo and board the lifting body to perform a pre-reentry check on its systems.[2]
It was planned that there would be two flights in this program. In the first, the lifting body pilot would return to the Apollo and send the HL-10 back to earth uncrewed. If this flight was successful, the second launch would be involve a piloted landing at Edwards AFB. Reportedly, Wernher von Braun was enthusiastic about the mission, offering to prepare two Saturn Vs and Apollo Command Service Modules. However, he was overridden by the Flight Research Center director, and nothing came of the proposal.[2] Launching a Saturn V to low Earth orbit with a light payload would not be an efficient use of capability, and the Apollo program was ended mainly on cost grounds.[citation needed]
HL-10 flights
Vehicle Flight # |
Date | Pilot | Mach | Velocity /km/h | Altitude /m | Duration | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HL-10 #1 | December 22, 1966 | Peterson | 0.693 | 735 | 13,716 | 00:03:07 | First HL-10 Flight Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #2 | March 15, 1968 | Gentry | 0.609 | 684 | 13,716 | 00:04:03 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #3 | April 3, 1968 | Gentry | 0.690 | 732 | 13,716 | 00:04:02 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #4 | April 25, 1968 | Gentry | 0.697 | 739 | 13,716 | 00:04:18 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #5 | May 3, 1968 | Gentry | 0.688 | 731 | 13,716 | 00:04:05 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #6 | May 16, 1968 | Gentry | 0.678 | 719 | 13,716 | 00:04:25 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #7 | May 28, 1968 | Manke | 0.657 | 698 | 13,716 | 00:04:05 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #8 | June 11, 1968 | Manke | 0.635 | 697 | 13,716 | 00:04:06 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #9 | June 21, 1968 | Gentry | 0.637 | 700 | 13,716 | 00:04:31 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #10 | September 24, 1968 | Gentry | 0.682 | 723 | 13,716 | 00:04:05 | Unpowered glide XLR-11 installed |
HL-10 #11 | October 3, 1968 | Manke | 0.714 | 758 | 13,716 | 00:04:03 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #12 | October 23, 1968 | Gentry | 0.666 | 723 | 12,101 | 00:03:09 | 1st powered flight engine malfunction landed Rosamond |
HL-10 #13 | November 13, 1968 | Manke | 0.840 | 843 | 13,000 | 00:06:25 | 3 tries to light engine |
HL-10 #14 | December 9, 1968 | Gentry | 0.870 | 872 | 14,454 | 00:06:34 | - |
HL-10 #15 | April 17, 1969 | Manke | 0.994 | 974 | 16,075 | 00:06:40 | - |
HL-10 #16 | April 25, 1969 | Dana | 0.701 | 744 | 13,716 | 00:04:12 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #17 | May 9, 1969 | Manke | 1.127 | 1,197 | 16,246 | 00:06:50 | 1st lifting body supersonic flight |
HL-10 #18 | May 20, 1969 | Dana | 0.904 | 959 | 14,966 | 00:06:54 | - |
HL-10 #19 | May 28, 1969 | Manke | 1.236 | 1,312 | 18,959 | 00:06:38 | - |
HL-10 #20 | June 6, 1969 | Hoag | 0.665 | 727 | 13,716 | 00:03:51 | Unpowered glide |
HL-10 #21 | June 19, 1969 | Manke | 1.398 | 1,484 | 19,538 | 00:06:18 | - |
HL-10 #22 | July 23, 1969 | Dana | 1.444 | 1,350 | 19,446 | 00:06:13 | - |
HL-10 #23 | August 6, 1969 | Manke | 1.540 | 1,656 | 23,195 | 00:06:12 | 1st four- chambered flight |
HL-10 #24 | September 3, 1969 | Dana | 1.446 | 1,542 | 23,762 | 00:06:54 | - |
HL-10 #25 | September 18, 1969 | Manke | 1.256 | 1,341 | 24,137 | 00:07:06 | - |
HL-10 #26 | September 30, 1969 | Hoag | 0.924 | 980 | 16,383 | 00:07:16 | - |
HL-10 #27 | October 27, 1969 | Dana | 1.577 | 1,675 | 18,474 | 00:06:57 | - |
HL-10 #28 | November 3, 1969 | Hoag | 1.396 | 1,482 | 19,544 | 00:07:19 | - |
HL-10 #29 | November 17, 1969 | Dana | 1.594 | 1,693 | 19,687 | 00:06:48 | - |
HL-10 #30 | November 21, 1969 | Hoag | 1.432 | 1,532 | 24,165 | 00:06:18 | - |
HL-10 #31 | December 12, 1969 | Dana | 1.310 | 1,402 | 24,372 | 00:07:08 | - |
HL-10 #32 | January 19, 1970 | Hoag | 1.310 | 1,399 | 26,414 | 00:06:50 | - |
HL-10 #33 | January 26, 1970 | Dana | 1.351 | 1,444 | 26,726 | 00:06:51 | - |
HL-10 #34 | February 18, 1970 | Hoag | 1.861 | 1,976 | 20,516 | 00:06:20 | Fastest lifting body flight |
HL-10 #35 | February 27, 1970 | Dana | 1.314 | 1,400 | 27,524 | 00:06:56 | Highest lifting body flight |
HL-10 #36 | June 11, 1970 | Hoag | 0.744 | 810 | 13,716 | 00:03:22 | Lift/Drag powered approach |
HL-10 #37 | July 17, 1970 | Hoag | 0.733 | 803 | 13,716 | 00:04:12 | Last flight |
Aircraft serial number
- Northrop HL-10 — NASA 804, 37 flights
Status
The HL-10 is currently on display at the entrance of Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA.
Specifications (Northrop HL-10)
General characteristics
- Crew: one pilot
- Length: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m)
- Wingspan: 13 ft 7 in (4.15 m)
- Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m)
- Wing area: 160 ft2 (14.9 m2)
- Empty: 5,285 lb (2,397 kg)
- Loaded: 6,000 lb (2,721 kg)
- Maximum takeoff: 10,009 lb (4,540 kg) (propellant wt 3,536 lb - 1,604 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 x Reaction Motors XLR-11four-chamber rocket engine. 8,000 lbf (35.7 kN) thrust
Performance
- Maximum speed: 1,228 mph (1,976 km/h)
- Range: 45 miles (72 km)
- Service ceiling: 90,303 ft (27,524 m)
- Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
- Wing loading: 62.5 lb/ft2 (304.7 kg/m2)
- Thrust-to-weight: 1:0.99
Fictional references
In the pilot movie, and an episode of
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Martin Marietta X-24
- NASA M2-F1
- Northrop M2-F2
- Northrop M2-F3
- X-38 Crew Return Vehicle
Related lists
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "HL-10 Lifting Body fact sheet". Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ .
- ^ The Six Million Dollar Man: "The Deadly Replay". Written by Wilton Denmark. First broadcast on Nov. 22, 1974
- ^ Martin Caidin, Cyborg, Arbor House, 1972, and sequel works, plus the 1987 telefilm Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman