X-38 model
The X-38 model, shown here with William Adkins of the Aerothermodynamic Support Section prior to testing in NASA Langley Research Center's 31-Inch Mach 10 tunnel, represents a 0.021 scale model of a proposed rescue vehicle. The vehicle will be used to return International Space Station crew members to Earth in the event of an emergency. A team of engineers from NASA Johnson Space Center and Langley Research Center designed the model based initially on the X-23 and the X-24A databases. The aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic databases are being refined across the speed range with the computational and experimental results. The Langley tunnels being used to acquire the data are the 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel, the 20-Inch Mach 6 CF4 Tunnel, the 22-Inch Mach 20 Helium Tunnel, the 31-Inch Mach 10 Tunnel, the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel and the 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel.
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