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By NASA
NASA NASA pilot Joe Walker sits in the pilot’s platform of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) number 1 on Oct. 30, 1964. The LLRV and its successor the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) provided the training tool to simulate the final 200 feet of the descent to the Moon’s surface.
The LLRVs, humorously referred to as flying bedsteads, were used by NASA’s Flight Research Center, now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, to study and analyze piloting techniques needed to fly and land the Apollo lunar module in the moon’s airless environment.
Learn more about the LLRV’s first flight.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
President John F. Kennedy’s national commitment to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade posed multiple challenges, among them how to train astronauts to land on the Moon, a place with no atmosphere and one-sixth the gravity on Earth. The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) and its successor the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) provided the training tool to simulate the final 200 feet of the descent to the lunar surface. The ungainly aircraft made its first flight on Oct. 30, 1964, at NASA’s Flight Research Center (FRC), now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in California. The Apollo astronauts who completed landings on the Moon attributed their successes largely to training in these vehicles.
The first Lunar Landing Research Vehicle silhouetted against the rising sun on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert.
In December 1961, NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., received an unsolicited proposal from Bell Aerosystems in Buffalo, New York, for a design of a flying simulator to train astronauts on landing a spacecraft on the Moon. Bell’s approach, using their design merged with concepts developed at NASA’s FRC, won approval and the space agency funded the design and construction of two Lunar Landing Research Vehicles (LLRV). At the time of the proposal, NASA had not yet chosen the method for getting to and landing on the Moon, but once NASA decided on Lunar Orbit Rendezvous in July 1962, the Lunar Module’s (LM) flying characteristics matched Bell’s proposed design closely enough that the LLRV served as an excellent trainer.
Two views of the first Lunar Landing Research Vehicle shortly after its arrival and prior to assembly at the Flight Research Center, now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in California.
Bell Aerosystems delivered the LLRV-1 to FRC on April 8, 1964, where it made history as the first pure fly-by-wire aircraft to fly in Earth’s atmosphere. Its design relied exclusively on an interface with three analog computers to convert the pilot’s movements to signals transmitted by wire and to execute his commands. The open-framed LLRV used a downward pointing turbofan engine to counteract five-sixths of the vehicle’s weight to simulate lunar gravity, two rockets provided thrust for the descent and horizontal translation, and 16 LM-like thrusters provided three-axis attitude control. The astronauts could thus simulate maneuvering and landing on the lunar surface while still on Earth. The LLRV pilot could use an aircraft-style ejection seat to escape from the vehicle in case of loss of control.
Left: The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle-1 (LLRV-1) during an engine test at NASA’s Flight Research Center (FRC), now NASA’s Armstrong Fight Research Center, in California’s Mojave Desert. Right: NASA chief test pilot Joseph “Joe” A. Walker, left, demonstrates the features of LLRV-1 to President Lyndon B. Johnson during his visit to FRC.
Engineers conducted numerous tests to prepare the LLRV for its first flight. During one of the engine tests, the thrust generated was higher than anticipated, lifting crew chief Raymond White and the LLRV about a foot off the ground before White could shut off the engines. On June 19, during an official visit to FRC, President Lyndon B. Johnson inspected the LLRV featured on a static display. The Secret Service would not allow the President to sit in the LLRV’s cockpit out of an overabundance of caution since the pyrotechnics were installed, but not yet armed, in the ejection seat. Following a Preflight Readiness Review held Aug. 13 and 14, managers cleared the LLRV for its first flight.
Left: NASA chief test pilot Joseph “Joe” A. Walker during the first flight of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV). Right: Walker shortly after the first LLRV flight.
In the early morning of Oct. 30, 1964, FRC chief pilot Joseph “Joe” A. Walker arrived at Edwards Air Force Base’s (AFB) South Base to attempt the first flight of the LLRV. Walker, a winner of both the Collier Trophy and the Harmon International Trophy, had flown nearly all experimental aircraft at Edwards including 25 flights in the X-15 rocket plane. On two of his X-15 flights, Walker earned astronaut wings by flying higher than 62 miles, the unofficial boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and space. After strapping into the LLRV’s ejection seat, Walker ran through the preflight checklist before advancing the throttle to begin the first flight. The vehicle rose 10 feet in the air, Walker performed a few small maneuvers and then made a soft landing after having flown for 56 seconds. He lifted off again, performed some more maneuvers, and landed again after another 56 seconds. On his third flight, the vehicle’s electronics shifted into backup mode and he landed the craft after only 29 seconds. Walker seemed satisfied with how the LLRV handled on its first flights.
Left: Lunar Landing Research Vehicle-2 (LLRV-2) during one of its six flights at the Flight Research Center, now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in California in January 1967. Right: NASA astronaut Neil A. Armstrong with LLRV-1 at Ellington Air Force Base in March 1967.
Walker took LLRV-1 aloft again on Nov. 16 and eventually completed 35 test flights with the vehicle. Test pilots Donald “Don” L. Mallick, who completed the first simulated lunar landing profile flight during the LLRV’s 35th flight on Sept. 8, 1965, and Emil E. “Jack” Kluever, who made his first flight on Dec. 13, 1965, joined Walker to test the unique aircraft. Joseph S. “Joe” Algranti and Harold E. “Bud” Ream, pilots at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, travelled to FRC to begin training flights with the LLRV in August 1966. Workers at FRC assembled the second vehicle, LLRV-2, during the latter half of 1966. In December 1966, after 198 flights workers transferred LLRV-1 to Ellington AFB near MSC for the convenience of astronaut training, and LLRV-2 followed in January 1967 after completing six test flights at FRC. The second LLRV made no further flights, partly because the three Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTVs), more advanced models that better simulated the LM’s flying characteristics, began to arrive at Ellington in October 1967. Neil A. Armstrong completed the first astronaut flights aboard LLRV-1 on Mar. 23, 1967, and flew 21 flights before ejecting from the vehicle on May 6, 1968, seconds before it crashed. He later completed his lunar landing certification flights using LLTV-2 in June 1969, one month before peforming the actual feat on the Moon.
Left: Apollo 11 Commander Neil A. Armstrong prepares to fly a lunar landing profile in Lunar Landing Training Vehicle-2 (LLTV-2) in June 1969. Middle: Apollo 12 Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad prepares to fly LLTV-2 in July 1969. Right: Apollo 14 Commander Alan B. Shepard flies LLTV-3 in December 1970.
All Apollo Moon landing mission commanders and their backups completed their lunar landing certifications using the LLTV, and all the commanders attributed their successful landings to having trained in the LLTV. Apollo 8 astronaut William A. Anders, who along with Armstrong completed some of the early LLRV test flights, called the training vehicle “a much unsung hero of the Apollo program.” During the flight readiness review in January 1970 to clear LLTV-3 for astronaut flights, Apollo 11 Commander Armstrong and Apollo 12 Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, who had by then each completed manual landings on the Moon, spoke positively of the LLTV’s role in their training. Armstrong’s overall impression of the LLTV: “All the pilots … thought it was an extremely important part of their preparation for the lunar landing attempt,” adding “It was a contrary machine, and a risky machine, but a very useful one.” Conrad emphasized that were he “to go back to the Moon again on another flight, I personally would want to fly the LLTV again as close to flight time as possible.” During the Apollo 12 technical debriefs, Conrad stated the “the LLTV is an excellent training vehicle for the final phases. I think it’s almost essential. I feel it really gave me the confidence that I needed.” During the postflight debriefs, Apollo 14 Commander Alan B. Shepard stated that he “did feel that the LLTV contributed to my overall ability to fly the LM during the landing.”
Left: Apollo 15 Commander David R. Scott flies Lunar Landing Training Vehicle-3 (LLTV-3) in June 1971. Middle: Apollo 16 Commander John W. Young prepares to fly LLTV-3 in March 1972. Right: Apollo 17 Commander Eugene A. Cernan prepares for a flight aboard LLTV-3 in October 1972.
David R. Scott, Apollo 15 commander, stated in the final mission report that “the combination of visual simulations and LLTV flying provided excellent training for the actual lunar landing. Comfort and confidence existed throughout this phase.” In the Apollo 15 postflight debrief, Scott stated that he “felt very comfortable flying the vehicle (LM) manually, because of the training in the LLTV, and there was no question in my mind that I could put it down where I wanted to. I guess I can’t say enough about that training. I think the LLTV is an excellent simulation of the vehicle.” Apollo 16 Commander John W. Young offered perhaps the greatest praise for the vehicle just moments after landing on the lunar surface: “Just like flying the LLTV. Piece of cake.” Young reiterated during the postflight debriefs that “from 200 feet on down, I never looked in the cockpit. It was just like flying the LLTV.” Apollo 17 Commander Eugene A. Cernan stated in the postflight debrief that “the most significant part of the final phases from 500 feet down, … was that it was extremely comfortable flying the bird. I contribute (sic) that primarily to the LLTV flying operations.”
Left: Workers move Lunar Landing Research Vehicle-2 from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center for display at the Air Force Test Flight Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. Right: Lunar Landing Training Vehicle-3 on display outside the Teague Auditorium at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In addition to playing a critical role in the Moon landing program, these early research and test vehicles aided in the development of digital fly-by-wire technology for future aircraft. LLRV-2 is on display at the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB (on loan from AFRC). Visitors can view LLTV-3 suspended from the ceiling in the lobby of the Teague Auditorium at JSC.
The monograph Unconventional, Contrary, and Ugly: The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle provides an excellent and detailed history of the LLRV.
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By NASA
This image shows nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, with each region containing multiple potential sites for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years. The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images.Credit: NASA As NASA prepares for the first crewed Moon landing in more than five decades, the agency has identified an updated set of nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for its Artemis III mission. These areas will be further investigated through scientific and engineering study. NASA will continue to survey potential areas for missions following Artemis III, including areas beyond these nine regions.
“Artemis will return humanity to the Moon and visit unexplored areas. NASA’s selection of these regions shows our commitment to landing crew safely near the lunar South Pole, where they will help uncover new scientific discoveries and learn to live on the lunar surface,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office.
NASA’s Cross Agency Site Selection Analysis team, working closely with science and industry partners, added, and excluded potential landing regions, which were assessed for their science value and mission availability.
The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority order:
Peak near Cabeus B Haworth Malapert Massif Mons Mouton Plateau Mons Mouton Nobile Rim 1 Nobile Rim 2 de Gerlache Rim 2 Slater Plain These regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability. The lunar South Pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.
“The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”
To select these landing regions, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers analyzed the lunar South Pole region using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and a vast body of lunar science research. Factors in the selection process included science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions. Additionally, the team assessed the combined trajectory capabilities of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.
The Artemis III geology team evaluated the landing regions for their scientific promise. Sites within each of the nine identified regions have the potential to provide key new insights into our understanding of rocky planets, lunar resources, and the history of our solar system.
“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon. They will be flying on a new lander into a terrain that is unique from our past Apollo experience,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing, and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”
NASA’s site assessment team will engage the lunar science community through conferences and workshops to gather data, build geologic maps, and assess the regional geology of eventual landing sites. The team also will continue surveying the entire lunar South Pole region for science value and mission availability for future Artemis missions. This will include planning for expanded science opportunities during Artemis IV, and suitability for the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) as part of Artemis V.
The agency will select sites within regions for Artemis III after it identifies the mission’s target launch dates, which dictate transfer trajectories, or orbital paths, and surface environment conditions.
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
For more information on Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis
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James Gannon / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
james.h.gannon@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 28, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Artemis Artemis 3 Earth's Moon Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Human Landing System Program Humans in Space Space Launch System (SLS) View the full article
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By NASA
NASA’s work, including its Moon to Mars exploration approach, is advancing science and technology for the Artemis Generation, while also driving significant economic growth across the United States, the agency announced Thursday.
In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023.
“To invest in NASA is to invest in American workers, American innovation, the American economy, and American economic competitiveness,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our work doesn’t just expand our understanding of the universe — it fuels economic growth, inspires future generations, and improves our quality of life. As we embark on the next great chapter of exploration, we are proud to help power economic strength, job creation, scientific progress, and American leadership on Earth, in the skies, and in the stars.”
Combined, NASA’s missions supported 304,803 jobs nationwide, and generated an estimated $9.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes throughout the United States.
The study found NASA’s Moon to Mars activities generated more than $23.8 billion in total economic output and supported an estimated 96,479 jobs nationwide. For investments in climate research and technology, the agency’s activities generated more than $7.9 billion in total economic output and supported an estimated 32,900 jobs in the U.S.
Additional key findings of the study include:
Every state in the country benefits economically through NASA activities. Forty-five states have an economic impact of more than $10 million. Of those 45 states, eight have an economic impact of $1 billion or more. The agency’s Moon to Mars initiative, which includes the Artemis missions, generated nearly $2.9 billion in tax revenue. These activities provided about 32% of NASA’s economic impact. The agency’s investments in climate change research and technology generated more than $1 billion in tax revenue. Approximately 11% of NASA’s economic impacts are attributable to its investments in climate change research and technology. NASA had more than 644 active international agreements for various scientific research and technology development activities in the 2023 fiscal year. The International Space Station, representing 15 countries and five space agencies, has a predominant role in the agency’s international partnerships. In fiscal year 2023, NASA oversaw 2,628 active domestic and international non-procurement partnership agreements, which included 629 new domestic and 109 new international agreements, active partnerships with 587 different non-federal partners across the U.S., and partnerships in 47 of 50 states. NASA Spinoffs, which are public products and processes that are developed with NASA technology, funding, or expertise, provide a benefit to American lives beyond dollars and jobs. As of result of NASA missions, our fiscal year 2023 tech transfer activities produced 1,564 new technology reports, 40 new patent applications, 69 patents issued, and established 5,277 software usage agreements. Scientific research and development, which fuels advancements in science and technology that can help improve daily life on Earth and for humanity, is the largest single-sector benefitting from NASA’s work, accounting for 19% of NASA’s total economic impact. The study was conducted by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
To review the full report, visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/3NEtUIq
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Meira Bernstein / Melissa Howell
Headquarters, Washington
202-615-1747 / 202-961-6602
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / melissa.e.howell@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 24, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters View the full article
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By NASA
A test image of Earth taken by NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4’s onboard camera. The camera will capture images of the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna upon deployment.NASA NASA recently evaluated initial flight data and imagery from Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-4 (PTD-4), confirming proper checkout of the spacecraft’s systems including its on-board electronics as well as the payload’s support systems such as the small onboard camera. Shown above is a test image of Earth taken by the payload camera, shortly after PTD-4 reached orbit. This camera will continue photographing the technology demonstration during the mission.
Payload operations are now underway for the primary objective of the PTD-4 mission – the demonstration of a new power and communications technology for future spacecraft. The payload, a deployable solar array with an integrated antenna called the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna, or LISA-T, has initiated deployment of its central boom structure. The boom supports four solar power and communication arrays, also called petals. Releasing the central boom pushes the still-stowed petals nearly three feet (one meter) away from the spacecraft bus. The mission team currently is working through an initial challenge to get LISA-T’s central boom to fully extend before unfolding the petals and beginning its power generation and communication operations.
Small spacecraft on deep space missions require more electrical power than what is currently offered by existing technology. The four-petal solar array of LISA-T is a thin-film solar array that offers lower mass, lower stowed volume, and three times more power per mass and volume allocation than current solar arrays. The in-orbit technology demonstration includes deployment, operation, and environmental survivability of the thin-film solar array.
“The LISA-T experiment is an opportunity for NASA and the small spacecraft community to advance the packaging, deployment, and operation of thin-film, fully flexible solar and antenna arrays in space. The thin-film arrays will vastly improve power generation and communication capabilities throughout many different mission applications,” said Dr. John Carr, deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These capabilities are critical for achieving higher value science alongside the exploration of deep space with small spacecraft.”
The Pathfinder Technology Demonstration series of missions leverages a commercial platform which serves to test innovative technologies to increase the capability of small spacecraft. Deploying LISA-T’s thin solar array in the harsh environment of space presents inherent challenges such as deploying large highly flexible non-metallic structures with high area to mass ratios. Performing experiments such as LISA-T on a smaller, lower-cost spacecraft allows NASA the opportunity to take manageable risk with high probability of great return. The LISA-T experiment aims to enable future deep space missions with the ability to acquire and communicate data through improved power generation and communication capabilities on the same integrated array.
The PTD-4 small spacecraft is hosting the in-orbit technology demonstration called LISA-T. The PTD-4 spacecraft deployed into low Earth orbit from SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rocket which launched from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Aug. 16. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama designed and built the LISA-T technology as well as LISA-T’s supporting avionics system. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program, based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and led by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, funds and manages the PTD-4 mission as well as the overall Pathfinder Technology Demonstration mission series. Terran Orbital Corporation of Irvine, California, developed and built the PTD-4 spacecraft bus, named Triumph.
Learn more about NASA’s LISA-T technology:
NASA teams are testing a key technology demonstration known as LISA-T, short for the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and anTenna. It’s a super compact, stowable, thin-film solar array that when fully deployed in space, offers both a power generation and communication capability for small spacecraft. LISA-T’s orbital flight test is part of the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator series of missions. To travel farther into deep space, small spacecraft require more electrical power than what is currently available through existing technology. LISA-T aims to answer that demand and would offer small spacecraft access to power without compromising mass or volume. Watch this video to learn more about the spacecraft, its deployment, and the possibilities from John Carr, deputy center chief technologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. View the full article
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