)
AN EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
N F-36 / VOL . IV , NO .8
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Simulators
What may be the fastest gun in the West is
located at Ames Research Center, Mountain View,
California . It is called a light gas gun because it
employes the ignition of ordinary gunpowder to
drive a piston down a tube which contains hydro-
gen , a gas lighter than air. Heated by compression ,
the hydrogen drives a spacecraft model or another
kind of project ile into a test section at 20 ,000 miles
per hour. At the same time , a mixture of hydrogen,
oxygen , and helium , started from the opposite end,
rushes past the model at about 10,000 mph , pro-
ducing a simulated speed of 30,000 mph.
The gun is used to study spacecraft entry into
the atmospheres of ea rth and other planets such as
Mars and Jupiter. It is also employed to study the
effects of micrometeoroids (microscopic particles
of matter, larger than atoms, speeding through
space) on spacecraft.
The Ames light gas gun is one of many simula-
tors by which NASA exhaustively tests on the
ground all elements and situations that materials
and man are expected to face in earth 's atmosphere
or in interplanetary space. To simulate has been
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defined as " to assume the appearance of, without
reality." This is exactly what NASA simulators are
designed to do.
Using simulators, NASA finds out how proposed
airplanes, spacecraft, launch vehicles, and their
components will function on missions . Worthwhile
features are incorporated in the actual flight craft;
those that fail the tests are modified or discarded.
Thus, time is saved and costs are held down in
development of airplanes and spacecraft.
NASA has developed simul ators in which pilots
perfect the techniques they will use during flight .
When astronauts practice in these simulators, they
are made to feel that they are on actual space
missions. As a result , when they head into space ,
they are already familiar with almost every detail
of their mission and have had advance preparation
for possible emergencies .
In the not too distant future , three American
astronauts are scheduled to pi lot an Apollo space-
craft into lunar orbit. Two will Iclnd a section of it
called the Lunar Module (LM) on the moon. After
exploring, taking pictures, co ll ecting rock samp les,
Fastest g un in the West. lig ht ga s g un ,
Am es Rese arch Center, can fire a pro -
jectile at a simulated speed of 30,000
mph.
 \\

Rendezvous and Doc king Si m ·

ulator, Lan gley Research Cen ·
ter.

and performing other t asks, the landing party is Technician usin g sextant takes sightings of make·believe
to launch the LM to lunar orbit where they will re - stars and moon in naviga tion simulator at Ames Resea rch
Center.
join the parent Apollo spacecraft. Th en, they return
t o the parent craft, cast the LM adrift, and rocket
Apollo out of lunar orbit to earth.
The mission calls for operations never before
done by man . For example , the astronauts must
use rocket power alone to land on the airless moon.
They must guide their spacecraft through trackless
space to the moon and back to earth , using the
starfield for navigation. They will be travel ling
throug h an airless va cu um and their spacecraft will
be subjected simultaneously to baking tempera -
tu res on one side and subzero cold on the other.
NASA has simulators for training Apollo flight
crews at two of its facilities: Manned Spacecraft
Center, Houston , Tex as, and the John F. Kennedy
Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Florida .
The astronauts sit in a crew compartment with
instrument panels th at duplicate the interior of the
Apollo command module. The command module is
the astrona uts ' living quarters during their flight orientation. The Apollo crew is familiarized with
to and from the moon. Surrounding the crew com- both operating and emergency procedures before
partment is a battery of television and motion pic- leaving the ground .
t ure screens and planetarium projection equipment. Heart of thi s Apollo Mission Simulator is a
These provide the views that the crew is expected unit consisting of three great computers. The simu-
to see during their mission-such views as the lator can duplicate almost every detail of the
starfield , the growing moon (as the astronauts moon mission except weightlessness.
approach it) , and the Lun ar Module, both connected NASA's Project Gemini , which laid a sound base
to and separated from the craft. for Apollo , demonstrated among its many achieve-
Realism is accentuated by sound effects such as ments that astronauts can maneuver spacecraft to
reco rdings of the thunder of the great Saturn V rendezvous (navigate to the vicinity of) and dock
engines at launch from earth and of the thumps (link up) with another craft in space . Even before
heard when the Apollo thrusters fire to maintain leaving the ground, Apollo astronauts-like the
2

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Huge rotor for centrifuge (motion generator) of the Space
Navigation Simulator at Ames Research Center. Note size
of men nearby.
Gemini astronauts before them-will practi ce
rendezvous and docking time after time in si mula-
tors. One of these is the Space Vehic le Rendezvou s
Docking Simulator at the Langley Research Cent er,
Hampton, Virginia. The simulator duplicates the
last two hundred feet of maneuvers leading to
docking. Pilot manipulations of Lunar Modu le in-
struments are converted into spacecraft motion.
In addition , emergencies requiring rapid corrective
action are sprung on the pilot.
Housed in a 135·foot diameter circu lar room at
the Ames Research Center is a Space Nav igat ion
Simulator, which duplicates every known fac tor of
control and navigation during space fligh t. Th e
facility contains two spacecraft models . One is a
three-man model to conduct simulated lu nar and
interplanetary missions. The other is a one-man
model for study of physiological and psycho logical
factors of prolonged flight in space. The mode ls
are eq uipped with systems such as may be used on
long-du ration fl ights; for exam pie, Iife-su pport (a i r,
temperature control, food , et c.), na vi gati on, guid ·
ance, and power. A feature of t he faci lit y is its
motion generator-a carefu ll y contr oll ed centrifu ge
that provides the acceleration an d deceleration
forces associated with lift -off from earth, firing of
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l
Lunar Landing Research Vehicle, Fli ght Research Center.
rockets during flight path adjustments (mid-course
maneuvers), and entry into the atmosphere of earth
on ret urn f rom the moon and planets . Such entry
may be at a speed of 42 ,000 mph, or more than
twice that of entry from earth orbit . The simulator
is primarily used for study of future manned mis-
sions into space , not astronaut training.
Severa l simulators help perfect techniques for
land ing safely, using only rocket power, on the
airless moon. Original research for one such craft
was conducted at the Flight Research Center,
Edwa rds , California . This Lunar Landing Research
Vehicle has a jet engine that is automatically regu-
lated and controlled to counter· balance five-sixths
of the earth's gravity (the vehicle 's weight) . This
takes into account the gravitational force of the
moon which is one-sixth that of earth . A IBO·pound
man on ea rth, therefore , would weigh only 30
pounds on t he moon . The Lunar Landing Research
Vehicle uses hyd rogen peroxide gas jets to lower,
ra ise, and balance itself in the same manner as the
Lunar Modu le is expected to operate as it descends
to t he moon's surface. An improved version of this
craft, looking like the Lunar Module , is 'called the
Lu nar Landing Training Vehicle.
Langley Research Center employs a saw·horse
shaped Lunar Landing Research Facility to dupli -
cate vehic le dynamics (how the vehicle will act)
duri ng t he cr it ica l last 200 feet of moon la nding .
Th e fac ility is 250 feet high, 400 feet long, and
300 feet wid e at the base. A vehicle representing
the Lun ar Mod ul e is suspended by cables that
counte ract f ive-sixths of its weight. The pilot con·
3
Lu nar Land i ng Rese arch Fa cility, Lan gley Research Center.
VTOL c raft used at Ames Res ea rch Center for study of lunar landing.
t rois his landing speed by varying the thrust of
hydrogen peroxide rockets .
Ames Research Center is stu dying lunar landing
by means of a VTOL (Vertical Take -Off and Landing)
aircraft . The ai rplane neither looks nor is powered
l ike a space ship , but applies power in the same
way. The airplane's jet exha ust is directed down-
ward to allow it to rise or descend vertically like
t he Lunar Module .
The tallest of the NASA simulators is the Saturn
V test stand at Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville , Al abama. The 360-foot high sta nd is
equipped to shake, bend, and vib rate Saturn V, the
Apollo launch vehicle, duplicating the stresses on
it as it lifts off through earth's turbulent atmos-
phere. The great booster never leaves the stand .
It is filled with water rather than rocket fuel. El ec-
4 I
trodynamic devices create the effects of the violent
air pressures that are built up during the booster's
outbound flight from earth.
A Lunar Orbit and Landing Approach (LOLA)
simulator at Langley Research Center enables the
pilot to practice flying from a height of 100 miles
to 200 feet above the moon. The pilot 's contro ls
are linked to a computer that controls a battery of
television cameras . These in turn are pointed at
three-dimensional relief maps of the moon's sur-
face . (The maps are made of molded fiberglass .)
Through closed-circuit TV, the pilot gets the im -
pression that he is dropping toward or climbing
I
away from the moon . I
Wh en the astronauts leave their Lunar Module to
walk and work on the moon , they will be repeating
many tasks they have done on the make-believe
J

moon at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Selenol-
ogists (lunar geologists) have created here a small
piece of the moon complete with craters as much
as 64 feet across and 16 feet deep. On this make-
believe moon is a mock-up of the Lunar Module .
Clothed in their space suits, the astronauts climb
out of th e Lunar Module and perform assigned
tasks. Not only does this give the astronauts
needed practice but also it enables scientists to
study their performance and capabi lities.
Th e X-I5 Research Airplane is a winged rocket-
propelled craft th at has provided much informa-
tion of significance to ae ronautic and space tech -
nologies and to science. It has been flown at more
than 4200 miles per hour and to altitudes of more
than 67 miles. Th e X-I5 is launched from a B- 52
aircraft about 45,000 feet above earth. The pow-
ered part of its fligh t lasts about two minutes. The
remainder is spent coasting to the peak of its
trajectory and then in a long glide to earth. Landing
speed is about 220 miles per hour.
Before any flight, the X-I5 pilot rehearses his
mission in a computer-driven ground model equip-
ped with repl icas of the X-I5 instruments and
Engineer with equipment that
elim inates five -sixths of his
wei ght trudges on make-
believe moon surface at Man -
ned Spacecraft Center.
controls. In this simulator, the pilot plans , checks,
and analyzes each flight from launch to landing
and develops and practices procedures for emer-
gencies. The X-I5 program is managed by Flight
Research Center.
The best known of all simulators is the wind
tunnel. In a wind tunnel, gases, such as air, are
blown at different speeds at a model that is usually
tethered . The effect of the air flowing past the
model is the same as if the model is speeding
through the air. The wind tunnel ha s contributed
much to the advancement of aeronautic and space
technologi es.
Almost every aircraft, from propeller-driven
models to supersonic jets , owes part of its develop-
ment to the wind tunnel. Models of future VjSTO L
(Vertical and Sho rt Take-Off and landing) craft
are being tested tod ay in wind tunnels . Various
tests of helicopter equipment, such as the rotor ,
are refining existing th eory and contributi ng to
improved designs. Research on rotors is helping
to develop high-performance helicopters that can
fly in any weather.
Th e Un ited States tested in wind tunnels many
5
Massive blades of a wind tunnel fan frame a scale model of a variable-sweep aircraft. The variable-sweep desig n, chosen
for Amenca's supersonic air transport, permits the win gs to be straight out (as shown) for subsonic flight or be swept
back for supersonic flight _
designs for a supersonic commercial air transport
before deciding on the most promising. This air-
liner is designed to fly as fast as 2000 miles per
hour, about three times the speed of today's com-
mercial jet airliners.
Wind tunnel tests have contributed to the Mer-
cury , Gemini , and Apollo manned spaceflight pro-
grams. As recently as 1966, wind tunnel tests of a
scale model of the 365-foot-tall Apollo-Saturn V
vehicle provided information which led to important
-but minor-design modifications. The tests
showed that the tall vehic le would sway as much as
five feet in the normal ocean breeze at Cape Ken-
nedy as it awa its tanking. Among the effects of such
movement are stresses on th e vehicle and tie-down
mechanisms, interference with launch operations,
and oscillation on lift-off. Engineers designed a
system to curtail the swaying.
In addition , NASA uses simula tors to study other
phases of airp lane flight. For examp le, NASA has
built an actual cockpit for a supersonic airliner
at Lang ley Research Center. The controls in the
cockpit are programmed by com puters to duplicate
6
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the handling qualities of the craft. In one program , I
the simulator at Langley is used to examine factors
relating to traffic control for supersonic transports
arriving at and departing from commercial airports.
Launch vehicle stages and future unmanned
satellites are also tested in a variety of simulators.
Among other things, they are shaken , spun , baked ,
and frozen in tests that frequently are more severe
than conditions they are expected to meet in space
flight. In this way, faults can be discovered and
eliminated before launch.
I
Durin g its launch and flight through earth 's
atmosphe re , a space vehicle is subjected to many
forces , such as noise and its associated pressures
and the turbulent air pressures generated by the
vehicle's own speed. These may cause the vehicle
to vibrate at such levels that it is damaged or
thrown off course.
The problems that could be created are simu -
lated ill a Launch Phase Simulator at the Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland . Th e facil -
ity can simultaneously subject vehicles to variable
levels of acceleration , vibration , noise, and vacuum

Simulated cockpit for supersonic air transport permits
studies of operations . The simulator is at Lan gley Research
Center.
occurring during launch from eart h into space.
The simulator is an immense rotating structure
116 feet long. It ca n create forc es as high as 23
times the pull of earth's gravity. The simulator is
housed underground in a huge covered pit to iso-
late it from extraneous effects in the surrounding
en vironm ent. It is big enough to test the largest
availab le unmanned satellites such as the Orbiting
Geophysical Observatory.
When the satellite has passed the launch phase
test, it goes to Goddard's Space Environmental
Simulator. This huge chamber, 60 feet in height
and 35 feet in diameter, can hold the biggest craft
built for America ' s unmanned satellite programs.
In the chamber, a spacecraft is not only subjected
to the vacuum of space but also to the cold and
darkness of space as well as the heat and other
radiation which the sun pours on objects in space .
The dark and cold of outer space originate from
a temperature-controlled black inner wall . The solar
radiation is created by 127 arrays made up of a
high intensity Mercury Xenon lamp, an aluminized
reflector, and four fused silica lenses that direct the
radiation on to the tested spacecraft. The range of
electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light and
ultraviolet and infrared rays) produced by the 127
units closely matches that which the sun pours into
Launch Phase Simulator, God ·
dard Space Flight Center.
7
Hig h-intens ity Xenon mercu ry lamps and alumin ized re - Hydroge n-fueled second stage of th e Atlas-Centaur launch
f lect ors, part of the artifici al sun of the Space Environ - vehicle is lowe red in the vacu um chamber of Lewis Re-
me ntal Simulato r, Goddard Space Fli ght Center. Three search Center for testin g.
units (r ight) are turned on .

space outside of earth 's atmosphere. Th e artificial
sun is located in th e dome of the Space Environ -
mental Simulator.
Special eq uipment is required for testing ad-
va nced rockets powered by nuclear or oth er highly
vol at ile fuels and for checkin g nucl ear devices de-
signed to generate sustained flows of electricity at
hi gh levels for prolonged periods. The Lewi s Re-
sea rch Center, Cleveland , Ohio, and its Plum Brook
Stati on, Sandusky, Ohio , are responsible for much
of thi s work. At Plum Brook , a vacuum t ank that
is 100 feet in diameter and 120 feet high provides
t he pressure and temperatu re conditions of space
for t esting compo nents and complete systems . The
ta nk is inclosed by a six-foot-thick concrete shield.
Al so at Plum Brook is a nuclear reactor which
provides a means for study of space radiation and
how man and machine can be protected against it.
A reactor creates radiation when it splits atoms .
The resulting protons , electrons , and oth er atomic
particl es, accelerated to high speeds, are simil ar
to particle s hurled into space by our sun and other
st ars and to those makin g up the dangerous Van
All en Radi ation Region.
NASA uses many more si mulators to bring outer
space down to ea rth . Th ese are supplemented and
testing is re inforced by th e ext ensive sim ul at or
fac iliti es of NASA con tractors . The NASA-in dustry-
university t ea m has fo und simulation to be an im-
portant contributor to reli ab ility of space veh icles ,
training of astron auts , and th e ad vance of Amer-
ica's ae ron aut ic and space programs.

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