Arnold Air Force Base
Encyclopedia
Arnold Air Force Base is a United States Air Force
base located in Coffee
and Franklin
counties, Tennessee
, adjacent to the city of Tullahoma
. It is named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold
, the father of the U.S. Air Force.
The base is home to the Arnold Engineering Development Center
(AEDC), the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. The center operates 58 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units. AEDC is an Air Force Materiel Command
organization.
The commander of Arnold Engineering Development Center is Col. Michael T. Panarisi. Mr. M. Britt Covington is the Executive Director, and Dr. Edward M. "Ed" Kraft is the chief technologist.
, located in Tullahoma, Tennessee
, was constructed as one of the Army’s largest training bases during the World War II
period between 1941 and 1946. The camp, named after American Civil War
cavalryman General
Nathan Bedford Forrest
, was originally named Camp Peay. Camp Peay was named after 1920’s Tennessee Governor
Austin Peay
and built east of Tullahoma, Tenn. as a National Guard Camp in 1926. Camp Peay covered 1040 acres (4.2 km²). Camp Forrest covered 85000 acres (344 km²) located just beyond the old Camp Peay.
The camp was a training area for infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal organizations. It also served as a hospital center and temporary encampment area for troops during maneuvers. Major General
George S. Patton
brought his 2nd Armored Division, “Hell on Wheels,” from Fort Benning
, Georgia for maneuvers. Incoming troops were provided with amenities such as service clubs, guest houses, library, post exchanges, post office, hospital, religious services, theaters, showers, Red Cross, and Army emergency relief. Recreation facilities included swimming, archery, tennis, a sports arena and a 9-hole golf course.
William Northern Field
, an air training base, was an addition for war preparation. The field was used as a training site for crews of multi-engined B-24 Liberator
bombers of the Army Air Force.
Camp Forrest officially became a Prisoner of War
Camp on May 12, 1942. The camp received, housed, secured, and administrated Italian, Japanese and German POWs. Prisoners were processed as laborers at Camp Forrest, the hospitals and in the local community on farms. In 1945 the U.S. government implemented an Intellectual Diversion Program which would enlighten Germany
on American way of life and increase their appreciation for the USA. This program used educational and recreational media to change views of POW’s. The program was successful with many prisoners.
Tullahoma was greatly affected by the installation of Camp Forrest. Because of maneuvers and operations, civilians became accustomed to blocked roads, traffic jams, crowded stores, the absence of mail delivery, and driving at night without lights. Soldiers camped out on lawns and fields. Many crops and fences were destroyed. In 1940 the population in Tullahoma was 4,500. By the end of the war the population had grown to 75,000. Many military people who moved in for construction and operation of the camp remained after the war.
In 1949, Congress authorized $100 million for the construction of the Air Engineering Development Center. A site was selected for the new center at the Army’s old Camp Forrest near Tullahoma and Manchester, Tennessee
. The site was chosen for its abundance of land, water and power. Land was needed to buffer surrounding communities from potential test hazards and noise. Water was needed to cool rapidly flowing air and hot exhaust gases. Abundant electricity was needed to power huge testing systems. Construction on the center started in 1950. On June 25, 1951, a year after General Arnold
’s death, President
Harry S. Truman
dedicated the Air Engineering Development Center in Arnold’s honor, naming it the Arnold Engineering Development Center
.
One of the government’s early decisions concerning the center was to employ a primarily contractor work force. The Arnold Research Organization known as ARO was formed by Sverdrup and Parcel to become that contractor work force. Part of the rational was to maintain a stable work force that came to accumulate a volume of experience with the test facilities that were to be built. That idea would make the center a model for outsourcing for the Department of Defense
by the 1990s. The 1950s saw the development of three major test facilities that remain active today — the Engine Test Facility, the von Karman Gas Dynamics Facility and the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility.
The first jet engine test equipment installed at the center was acquired from the Bavarian Motor Works in Munich
, Germany
. It took 58 railroad cars and two barges with another 450 tons by truck to move the equipment. After refurbishment, this equipment became the cornerstone for the Engine Test Facility, which was completed in 1953. By May 1954, the facility was put to work, testing the General Electric
J-47 engine for the B-47 Stratojet
bomber.
A flight dynamics facility for testing aerospace designs at high speeds was built and dedicated to Dr. Theodore von Karman
in 1959. Operations began with a prototype test cell called E-1, which was used to test the Falcon guided missile. Construction was completed on the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility at the end of the decade. PWT’s huge wind tunnels have become hallmarks of the center and are perhaps the most heavily used facilities on base.
As the space race
heated up, so did AEDC’s workload. PWT was used to investigate configurations for the Mercury space capsule
, which sent Alan Shepard
and John Glenn
into space. The center was a key player in supporting Project Gemini
, and the center played a multi-faceted role in supporting the Apollo Program, which put man on the moon. Apollo tests included aerodynamic assessments of the Apollo capsule and tests of Saturn V
rocket upper stage engines.
Some new test facilities came on line to help turn numerous aerospace system ideas into reality. The J-4 Large Rocket Engine Test Facility was dedicated in 1964. PWT got an addition in 1968 when the 4 feet (1.2 m) Transonic Tunnel came on line, which is used largely to test store separations.
With several test facilities running at full bore, the pace of testing increased exponentially. Among the systems tested during the decade were the F-105 Thunderchief
, C-141 Starlifter
and C-5 Galaxy
cargo planes, the E-3 Sentry
, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the TF-39 engine for the C-5 and the upper stage rocket motors for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
. In the middle of the decade, the University of Tennessee
and AEDC worked together in founding the University of Tennessee Space Institute
. The institute became a place for AEDC engineers and scientists to further their education, and for students and professors to work on research projects to help AEDC.
There came a natural turndown in the furious pace of aerospace after the moon landing
and the end of the Vietnam War
. But despite the turndown and a corresponding reduction by the government in funding for AEDC and the number of its employees, the pace of testing held steady as nearly 3,000 test projects were completed in the decade.
The list of systems tested during the decade read like a who’s who of aerospace. Included on that list were the Space Transportation System, which would later be called the Space Shuttle
, the F-15 Eagle
, F-16 Fighting Falcon
, B-1 Lancer
bomber, A-10 Thunderbolt II
, Pratt & Whitney
F100 engine, MX missile, Sidewinder missile, Navy Tomahawk Cruise Missile
, Air Force Air-Launched Cruise Missile
and the Global Positioning Satellite.
AEDC developed Laser-Illuminated Photography during the decade to better study projectiles in the center’s ballistic Range G that would be traveling up to 20000 mi/h. The technique provided a photographic exposure equivalent to 20 billionths of a second.
A heritage for environmental stewardship and uniqueness was born in 1976 when the Department of Interior registered AEDC as a unique natural area. The honor recognized AEDC’s superior management of fish and wildlife resources, conservation practices and environmental achievement.
And in a decade when the nation turned energy conscious, AEDC help explore alternative energy sources. A 750-ton magnet was used as part of a magnetohydro-dynamics research demonstration at the center, sponsored by the Department of Energy
. The demonstration assessed the effectiveness of using a large MHD generator to boost coal’s efficiency in producing electricity. AEDC later transferred the project to the University of Tennessee Space Institute
.
The conflict in the Persian Gulf
at the beginning of the 1990s became a defining event in late 20th Century America. It also showed the world what AEDC had been doing in the 1980s. As people around the world watched from their living rooms, people saw the United States score overwhelming victories in Desert Storm. And they saw the end product of what AEDC people had been working on throughout the decade. From the Patriot Air Defense Missile
to the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter, AEDC people worked on every aerospace system deployed to the Persian Gulf
. It was the first time technology showed up so dramatically in a real-world conflict, and it was a testament to the test and development work Arnold, von Karman and Wattendorf envisioned would be performed at AEDC.
The 1980s also marked the addition of the world’s largest jet engine testing facility — the Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility — to the center’s collection of aerospace flight simulation test facilities.
And for the first time in the center’s history, more than one major contractor performed work on base. The center’s workload split into three contracts — support, propulsion testing and aerodynamics testing. In 1981, Pam Am World Services became the support contractor, Sverdrup Technology Inc. took over propulsion testing and Calspan Corp. began aerodynamics testing. In 1985, Schneider Services International replaced Pan Am as support contractor.
The 1990s were a decade of change at AEDC. From opening its doors to commercial customers to “reengineering,” the center’s people explored better ways of doing business. Early in the decade, the center signed formal, long-term working alliances with a number of commercial aerospace organizations (Boeing
, General Electric
, Lockheed
, McDonnell Douglas
, Pratt & Whitney
) in hopes of steadying workload and to offset dwindling defense budgets. That led to companies like Pratt & Whitney and Boeing bringing projects that were strictly commercial to AEDC.
AEDC leaders began to emphasize strategic management, meeting in focus groups to consider the long-term health of the center and to formulate ways to make the future brighter. An outgrowth was reengineering the center, an ongoing process that seeks to streamline operations and standardize maintenance processes. It was also a decade that saw the center break new ground on the computational front. Computational Fluid Dynamics, using computers to simulate flight, saw an ever-increasing role in the scope of many major test programs. Using CFD and traditional ground testing together, helped hold down costs and provide more reliable data to test customers. In 1998, the center was designated as one of the Department of Defense’s High-Performance Computing Centers, making funding available to augment the center’s supercomputing capability making AEDC the 9th largest computer center in DoD.
The Navy docked at AEDC when its engine test facilities at Trenton, N.J., were transferred to AEDC as part of DoD consolidations under the Base Realignment and Closure Act. The move added four engine test facilities (SL-2, SL-3, T-11, T-12) and about 10 Navy people. The Air Force and Navy quickly integrated, making the center’s vice commander and other slots Navy positions. Later in the decade, on Oct. 1, 1997, AEDC assumed management for the former Navy Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Md.
Other facilities that came on line during the decade included J-6 — the world’s largest solid rocket motor test facility — and DECADE, a nuclear weapons effects facility. Among facilities that saw significant modernization were the J-4 Liquid Rocket Engine Test Facility, the Aeropropulsion Test Unit and the Engine Test Facility. PWT also saw a major sustainment and modernization program begin. A number of major aerospace programs came to AEDC for testing, including the F-22 Raptor
, the Joint Strike Fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the B-2 Spirit
stealth bomber, the Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines for the Boeing 777
and F-119 engines for the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter, the Boeing 747 and 767 and the RL-10 rocket engine.
The center’s workload consolidated to two divisions — test and support — in the mid 1990s, with Sverdrup as test support contractor and ACS as center support contractor. ACS is a joint venture of Computer Sciences Corp., DynCorp and General Physics.
In Sept 2002 a $10.4 million test facility upgrade was announced, and when completed the upgrade would make Arnold Engineering Development Center a "one-stop" shopping center for aerodynamic and propulsion test customers by providing Mach 8 capability. The Mach 8 milestone, which equates to objects traveling about 6000 mi/h, comes as workers install a new high-temperature and high-pressure burner in the center's aerodynamic and propulsion test unit. This nearly doubles the center's current test capabilities of Mach 4.1 or nearly 3100 mi/h. AEDC test experts can run at Mach 8 for three to six minutes which allows them to test an object across the full-duration mission profile. The project also calls for adding an improved air ejector system to allow the APTU to simulate higher altitude conditions while minimizing air usage. Installing the high-pressure air storage tanks and new liquid oxygen and isobutane systems are also included in the upgrade. Spring 2004 is the targeted completion date.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
base located in Coffee
Coffee County, Tennessee
Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....
and Franklin
Franklin County, Tennessee
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
counties, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, adjacent to the city of Tullahoma
Tullahoma, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 18,655 people, 7,717 households, and 5,161 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 88.1% White, 7.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races...
. It is named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, the father of the U.S. Air Force.
The base is home to the Arnold Engineering Development Center
Arnold Engineering Development Center
Arnold Engineering Development Center is a ground-based flight test facility operated by the US Air Force Materiel Command.-Mission statement:The AEDC mission is to:...
(AEDC), the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. The center operates 58 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units. AEDC is an Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command
Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created July 1, 1992 through the reorganization of Air Force Logistics Command and Air Force Systems Command....
organization.
The commander of Arnold Engineering Development Center is Col. Michael T. Panarisi. Mr. M. Britt Covington is the Executive Director, and Dr. Edward M. "Ed" Kraft is the chief technologist.
World War II
Camp ForrestCamp Forrest
Camp Forrest, located in Tullahoma, Tennessee, was one of the U.S. Army's largest training bases during World War II. It was an active Army post between 1941 and 1946.-History:...
, located in Tullahoma, Tennessee
Tullahoma, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 18,655 people, 7,717 households, and 5,161 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 88.1% White, 7.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races...
, was constructed as one of the Army’s largest training bases during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period between 1941 and 1946. The camp, named after American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
cavalryman General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
, was originally named Camp Peay. Camp Peay was named after 1920’s Tennessee Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Austin Peay
Austin Peay
Austin Peay was Governor of Tennessee from 1923 until his death in 1927.-Biography:Peay, a native of Kentucky, moved to Clarksville, Tennessee and opened a law practice in 1896. He was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1901 and re-elected in 1903...
and built east of Tullahoma, Tenn. as a National Guard Camp in 1926. Camp Peay covered 1040 acres (4.2 km²). Camp Forrest covered 85000 acres (344 km²) located just beyond the old Camp Peay.
The camp was a training area for infantry, artillery, engineer, and signal organizations. It also served as a hospital center and temporary encampment area for troops during maneuvers. Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
brought his 2nd Armored Division, “Hell on Wheels,” from Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia for maneuvers. Incoming troops were provided with amenities such as service clubs, guest houses, library, post exchanges, post office, hospital, religious services, theaters, showers, Red Cross, and Army emergency relief. Recreation facilities included swimming, archery, tennis, a sports arena and a 9-hole golf course.
William Northern Field
Tullahoma Regional Airport
Tullahoma Regional Airport aka William Northern Field is an airport located 2 miles northwest of the central business district of Tullahoma, Tennessee.-References:*, also available as a...
, an air training base, was an addition for war preparation. The field was used as a training site for crews of multi-engined B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bombers of the Army Air Force.
Camp Forrest officially became a Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
Camp on May 12, 1942. The camp received, housed, secured, and administrated Italian, Japanese and German POWs. Prisoners were processed as laborers at Camp Forrest, the hospitals and in the local community on farms. In 1945 the U.S. government implemented an Intellectual Diversion Program which would enlighten Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on American way of life and increase their appreciation for the USA. This program used educational and recreational media to change views of POW’s. The program was successful with many prisoners.
Tullahoma was greatly affected by the installation of Camp Forrest. Because of maneuvers and operations, civilians became accustomed to blocked roads, traffic jams, crowded stores, the absence of mail delivery, and driving at night without lights. Soldiers camped out on lawns and fields. Many crops and fences were destroyed. In 1940 the population in Tullahoma was 4,500. By the end of the war the population had grown to 75,000. Many military people who moved in for construction and operation of the camp remained after the war.
Cold War
After the war, 1946, Camp Forrest and Northern Field were declared surplus property. Buildings were sold at auction, torn down and carted away. Water and sewage systems and electrical systems were sold as salvage. All that remains are roads, brick chimneys and concrete foundations. Soon after the close of the camp, the area was selected for the site of an Air Engineering Development Center.In 1949, Congress authorized $100 million for the construction of the Air Engineering Development Center. A site was selected for the new center at the Army’s old Camp Forrest near Tullahoma and Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester, Tennessee
Manchester is a city in Coffee County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,102 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Coffee County...
. The site was chosen for its abundance of land, water and power. Land was needed to buffer surrounding communities from potential test hazards and noise. Water was needed to cool rapidly flowing air and hot exhaust gases. Abundant electricity was needed to power huge testing systems. Construction on the center started in 1950. On June 25, 1951, a year after General Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
’s death, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
dedicated the Air Engineering Development Center in Arnold’s honor, naming it the Arnold Engineering Development Center
Arnold Engineering Development Center
Arnold Engineering Development Center is a ground-based flight test facility operated by the US Air Force Materiel Command.-Mission statement:The AEDC mission is to:...
.
One of the government’s early decisions concerning the center was to employ a primarily contractor work force. The Arnold Research Organization known as ARO was formed by Sverdrup and Parcel to become that contractor work force. Part of the rational was to maintain a stable work force that came to accumulate a volume of experience with the test facilities that were to be built. That idea would make the center a model for outsourcing for the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
by the 1990s. The 1950s saw the development of three major test facilities that remain active today — the Engine Test Facility, the von Karman Gas Dynamics Facility and the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility.
The first jet engine test equipment installed at the center was acquired from the Bavarian Motor Works in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It took 58 railroad cars and two barges with another 450 tons by truck to move the equipment. After refurbishment, this equipment became the cornerstone for the Engine Test Facility, which was completed in 1953. By May 1954, the facility was put to work, testing the General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
J-47 engine for the B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...
bomber.
A flight dynamics facility for testing aerospace designs at high speeds was built and dedicated to Dr. Theodore von Karman
Theodore von Karman
Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
in 1959. Operations began with a prototype test cell called E-1, which was used to test the Falcon guided missile. Construction was completed on the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Test Facility at the end of the decade. PWT’s huge wind tunnels have become hallmarks of the center and are perhaps the most heavily used facilities on base.
As the space race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
heated up, so did AEDC’s workload. PWT was used to investigate configurations for the Mercury space capsule
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, which sent Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard
Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr. was an American naval aviator, test pilot, flag officer, and NASA astronaut who in 1961 became the second person, and the first American, in space. This Mercury flight was designed to enter space, but not to achieve orbit...
and John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...
into space. The center was a key player in supporting Project Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
, and the center played a multi-faceted role in supporting the Apollo Program, which put man on the moon. Apollo tests included aerodynamic assessments of the Apollo capsule and tests of Saturn V
Saturn V
The Saturn V was an American human-rated expendable rocket used by NASA's Apollo and Skylab programs from 1967 until 1973. A multistage liquid-fueled launch vehicle, NASA launched 13 Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with no loss of crew or payload...
rocket upper stage engines.
Some new test facilities came on line to help turn numerous aerospace system ideas into reality. The J-4 Large Rocket Engine Test Facility was dedicated in 1964. PWT got an addition in 1968 when the 4 feet (1.2 m) Transonic Tunnel came on line, which is used largely to test store separations.
With several test facilities running at full bore, the pace of testing increased exponentially. Among the systems tested during the decade were the F-105 Thunderchief
F-105 Thunderchief
The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, was a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. The Mach 2 capable F-105 conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War; it has the dubious distinction of being the only US aircraft to have been...
, C-141 Starlifter
C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command of the United States Air Force...
and C-5 Galaxy
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...
cargo planes, the E-3 Sentry
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the TF-39 engine for the C-5 and the upper stage rocket motors for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
. In the middle of the decade, the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
and AEDC worked together in founding the University of Tennessee Space Institute
University of Tennessee Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute, also known as UTSI, is a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee located near Tullahoma, Tennessee....
. The institute became a place for AEDC engineers and scientists to further their education, and for students and professors to work on research projects to help AEDC.
There came a natural turndown in the furious pace of aerospace after the moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
and the end of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. But despite the turndown and a corresponding reduction by the government in funding for AEDC and the number of its employees, the pace of testing held steady as nearly 3,000 test projects were completed in the decade.
The list of systems tested during the decade read like a who’s who of aerospace. Included on that list were the Space Transportation System, which would later be called the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
, the F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
, F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
, B-1 Lancer
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
bomber, A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
, Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
F100 engine, MX missile, Sidewinder missile, Navy Tomahawk Cruise Missile
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
, Air Force Air-Launched Cruise Missile
AGM-86 ALCM
The Boeing AGM-86 ALCM is a U.S. subsonic air-launched cruise missile built by Boeing Company and operated by the United States Air Force. The missiles were developed to increase the effectiveness and survivability of Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bombers...
and the Global Positioning Satellite.
AEDC developed Laser-Illuminated Photography during the decade to better study projectiles in the center’s ballistic Range G that would be traveling up to 20000 mi/h. The technique provided a photographic exposure equivalent to 20 billionths of a second.
A heritage for environmental stewardship and uniqueness was born in 1976 when the Department of Interior registered AEDC as a unique natural area. The honor recognized AEDC’s superior management of fish and wildlife resources, conservation practices and environmental achievement.
And in a decade when the nation turned energy conscious, AEDC help explore alternative energy sources. A 750-ton magnet was used as part of a magnetohydro-dynamics research demonstration at the center, sponsored by the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
. The demonstration assessed the effectiveness of using a large MHD generator to boost coal’s efficiency in producing electricity. AEDC later transferred the project to the University of Tennessee Space Institute
University of Tennessee Space Institute
The University of Tennessee Space Institute, also known as UTSI, is a satellite campus of the University of Tennessee located near Tullahoma, Tennessee....
.
The conflict in the Persian Gulf
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
at the beginning of the 1990s became a defining event in late 20th Century America. It also showed the world what AEDC had been doing in the 1980s. As people around the world watched from their living rooms, people saw the United States score overwhelming victories in Desert Storm. And they saw the end product of what AEDC people had been working on throughout the decade. From the Patriot Air Defense Missile
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium...
to the F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter, AEDC people worked on every aerospace system deployed to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. It was the first time technology showed up so dramatically in a real-world conflict, and it was a testament to the test and development work Arnold, von Karman and Wattendorf envisioned would be performed at AEDC.
The 1980s also marked the addition of the world’s largest jet engine testing facility — the Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility — to the center’s collection of aerospace flight simulation test facilities.
And for the first time in the center’s history, more than one major contractor performed work on base. The center’s workload split into three contracts — support, propulsion testing and aerodynamics testing. In 1981, Pam Am World Services became the support contractor, Sverdrup Technology Inc. took over propulsion testing and Calspan Corp. began aerodynamics testing. In 1985, Schneider Services International replaced Pan Am as support contractor.
Post Cold-War
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
, McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
, Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
) in hopes of steadying workload and to offset dwindling defense budgets. That led to companies like Pratt & Whitney and Boeing bringing projects that were strictly commercial to AEDC.
AEDC leaders began to emphasize strategic management, meeting in focus groups to consider the long-term health of the center and to formulate ways to make the future brighter. An outgrowth was reengineering the center, an ongoing process that seeks to streamline operations and standardize maintenance processes. It was also a decade that saw the center break new ground on the computational front. Computational Fluid Dynamics, using computers to simulate flight, saw an ever-increasing role in the scope of many major test programs. Using CFD and traditional ground testing together, helped hold down costs and provide more reliable data to test customers. In 1998, the center was designated as one of the Department of Defense’s High-Performance Computing Centers, making funding available to augment the center’s supercomputing capability making AEDC the 9th largest computer center in DoD.
The Navy docked at AEDC when its engine test facilities at Trenton, N.J., were transferred to AEDC as part of DoD consolidations under the Base Realignment and Closure Act. The move added four engine test facilities (SL-2, SL-3, T-11, T-12) and about 10 Navy people. The Air Force and Navy quickly integrated, making the center’s vice commander and other slots Navy positions. Later in the decade, on Oct. 1, 1997, AEDC assumed management for the former Navy Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Md.
Other facilities that came on line during the decade included J-6 — the world’s largest solid rocket motor test facility — and DECADE, a nuclear weapons effects facility. Among facilities that saw significant modernization were the J-4 Liquid Rocket Engine Test Facility, the Aeropropulsion Test Unit and the Engine Test Facility. PWT also saw a major sustainment and modernization program begin. A number of major aerospace programs came to AEDC for testing, including the F-22 Raptor
F-22 Raptor
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a single-seat, twin-engine fifth-generation supermaneuverable fighter aircraft that uses stealth technology. It was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but has additional capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals...
, the Joint Strike Fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the B-2 Spirit
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
stealth bomber, the Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines for the Boeing 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
and F-119 engines for the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter, the Boeing 747 and 767 and the RL-10 rocket engine.
The center’s workload consolidated to two divisions — test and support — in the mid 1990s, with Sverdrup as test support contractor and ACS as center support contractor. ACS is a joint venture of Computer Sciences Corp., DynCorp and General Physics.
In Sept 2002 a $10.4 million test facility upgrade was announced, and when completed the upgrade would make Arnold Engineering Development Center a "one-stop" shopping center for aerodynamic and propulsion test customers by providing Mach 8 capability. The Mach 8 milestone, which equates to objects traveling about 6000 mi/h, comes as workers install a new high-temperature and high-pressure burner in the center's aerodynamic and propulsion test unit. This nearly doubles the center's current test capabilities of Mach 4.1 or nearly 3100 mi/h. AEDC test experts can run at Mach 8 for three to six minutes which allows them to test an object across the full-duration mission profile. The project also calls for adding an improved air ejector system to allow the APTU to simulate higher altitude conditions while minimizing air usage. Installing the high-pressure air storage tanks and new liquid oxygen and isobutane systems are also included in the upgrade. Spring 2004 is the targeted completion date.
External links
- Arnold Air Force Base, official site
- Arnold AFB at GlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...
- Arnold AFB Installation Overview from AirForceUSA.org.