Advanced Technolgy
Experiments are continually being conducted with unusual aerospace vehicles. Ground-effect machines hover above the Earth or water on an air cushion created by the downdraft of fans. Such vehicles include the Bell SK-1 Hydroskimmer and the English-built SR-N3 Hovercraft.

 

 Many experimental VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) and STOL (short takeoff and landing) aircraft have been designed and built. The Ryan XV-5B used fans in its wings to gain vertical lift. The Bell X-22A and Curtiss-Wright X-19 used tiltable propellers. The Ling-Temco-Vought XC-142A employed a movable "tilt wing" that pointed the propellers upward or forward. The Piasecki VZ-8P AirGeep, a "flying jeep," used ducted fans for vertical flight.

 

 Advanced power plants are also under continuous development. The ramjet engine is capable of much greater speeds than the turbojet engine. It is used in the United States Air Force's supersonic interceptor Bomarc missile. Rocket engines that develop high thrust have been used in the Bell X-1, the first airplane to fly faster than sound, and in the North American X-15 research airplane. A more advanced version, the X-15A-2, was also rocket-powered.

 

   Research tools for aerospace medical problems are highly specialized. Low-pressure chambers duplicate the rarified atmosphere at high altitudes. Human centrifuges produce acceleration forces. Rocket-powered sleds and centrifuges test high acceleration and deceleration effects. Vertical accelerators simulate vibration stress. Closed cabins duplicate isolation conditions. Radios send data to ground stations from measuring devices attached to animals and human beings in flight. The astronauts of Project Mercury underwent long training before the first American space flight was made in 1961 . Machine that simulates a weightless environment.

 

   In the United States aerospace medicine is practiced by military and civilian branches of the federal government, educational institutions, research institutes, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers.

More advanced vehicles and future events are in the News section

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