Revolutionary Atmosphere: The Story of the Altitude Wind Tunnel and the Space Power Chambers, SP-2010-4319

Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA History Division, 2010. Presumed first edition/first printing. Hardcover. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. xviii, 392, [4] pages. Monographs in Aerospace History. Illustrations. Bibliographic Essay. Interview List. List of Images. Index. Robert S. Arrighi is an archivist and historian at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He has worked on numerous textual and audiovisual collections, many of which have been central for his histories of several historic test facilities at the Center. He is the coauthor of NASA’s Nuclear Frontier (2004) and author of Revolutionary Atmosphere: History of the Altitude Wind Tunnel and Space Chambers (2010), Pursuit of Power: NASA Glenn’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory No. 1 and 2 (2012), and other works. He has also curated complementary websites and interactives. His Altitude Wind Tunnel Interactive CD-ROM won SHFG’s Powell Award in 2009. When constructed in the early 1940s, the Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) was the nation s only wind tunnel capable of studying full-scale engines under realistic flight conditions. It played a significant role in the development of the first U.S. jet engines as well as technologies such as the afterburner and variable-area nozzle. In the late 1950s, the tunnel's interior components were removed so that hardware for Project Mercury could be tested in altitude conditions. In 1961, a portion of the tunnel was converted into one of the country s first large vacuum tanks and renamed the Space Power Chambers (SPC). SPC was used extensively throughout the 1960s for the Centaur rocket program. Condition: Very good / very good.

Keywords: Altitude Wind Tunnel, Space Power Chamber, Agena Rocket, Atlas Rocket, Centaur Program, Atlas Centaur, Glenn Research Center, Langley Research Center, NASA, Project Mercury, Abe Silverstein, Turbojets

ISBN: 9780160856419

[Book #71618]

Price: $85.00

See all items in NASA
See all items by