Mark Hess/Ed Campion

September 15, 1994

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/358-1778)

Don Nolan
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
(Phone: 805/258-3447)

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 407/867-2468)

Release: 94-153

RUNWAY RESURFACING STARTS FOLLOWING CV-990 TESTS

NASA has begun resurfacing the runway at the Kennedy Space

Center, a move that will improve the wear on Shuttle tires and
potentially lead to an expansion of the Return to Launch Site landing
crosswind flight rule.

Raising crosswind limits from the current constraint of 15

knots would increase launch probabilities from the spaceport on
Florida's Atlantic coast. A small increase could substantially reduce
the days in which crosswinds are too high for orbiters to land back at
the Shuttle runway at Kennedy if an emergency occurred immediately
after launch.

The runway resurfacing also will improve safety for end of

mission landings at KSC.

The resurfacing follows a series of successful tests with

Space Shuttle tires and a new runway resurfacing technique using
NASA's CV-990 Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA).

"Shuttle launches involve complicated choreography," said

Space Shuttle Operations Director Brewster Shaw. "This includes not
only the conditions that apply to launching out of the atmosphere and
into space, but also weather and winds at several locations around the
world in case problems force us to make an immediate landing. By
raising the Shuttle crosswind limits, something we have studied in a
very conservative and methodical way, we can enhance our capability to
launch on a given day."
 The LSRA is highly modified to duplicate the landing weight,
speed and side slip of the Space Shuttle. The converted jetliner
carries a landing gear test fixture that can test orbiter tires at up
to 140,000 lbs. of load. It was originally developed as a Space
Shuttle landing systems testbed, but can be used to test a variety of
aircraft landing systems. The LSRA was
developed and is operated by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center,
Edwards, Calif.

During the latest series of testing at Kennedy, the LSRA team

studied three different runway surfaces to determine the best landing
conditions for the orbiter. A resurfacing technique using a
Skidabrader machine was chosen and the entire 15,000-foot runway at
Kennedy will be resurfaced.

The runway surface treatment machine, which looks like an ice

rink resurfacing vehicle, propels tiny steel shot onto the runway to
pulverize the rough surface and create a much smoother finish.

These tests are part of a comprehensive effort by the Shuttle

program to evaluate crosswind limits under which an orbiter can safely
land. Tests with the CV-990 complement data which is being collected
during actual Space Shuttle landing approaches. These data are being
used to obtain a better understanding of orbiter handling
characteristics at landing speeds in various crosswind conditions.

"If we can save the Shuttle program eight days of delay we

will have paid for the entire LSRA program," said Christopher Nagy,
chief CV-990 engineer. The cost to modify the aircraft into a test
facility and operate it through this fiscal year was $12 million.

"The orbiter and all of its systems, with the exception of

the tires, were designed and built to handle a 20-knot cross wind,"
said Robert Baron, CV-990 program manager. "During the tests to
certify them up to 20 knots of crosswind, we hit tire loads of up to
140,000 lbs...way above their design limits...and they held up
consistently beyond their rated capacities."

According to Baron, no changes are required to the tires to

increase their crosswind limits.

The CV-990 logged 26 flights during the most recent phase of

testing at Kennedy, bringing the total to 101 flights since the
aircraft was modified into a test facility. Along with improving
orbiter landing capabilities, the CV-990 test team produced data to
help update Space Shuttle simulators used by NASA's Johnson Space
Center, Houston, and Rockwell International.

The CV-990 project pilot is Gordon Fullerton, who flew on two

Space Shuttle missions before leaving the astronaut corps in 1986 to
become a research pilot at Dryden.

Although testing at the Kennedy Space Center is complete,

additional flights are planned at Edwards to test Shuttle tires at low
air pressures and on the lakebed.

According to Baron, CV-990 project personnel are exploring

possible programs with other government agencies to utilize the unique
test and research capabilities of the aircraft.

Participants in the Space Shuttle tire testing and CV-990

programs include the Johnson Space Center; Kennedy Space Center; the
Landing Impact Dynamics Facility, NASA Langley Research Center,
Hampton, Va.; Landing Gear Development Facility, Wright-Patterson AFB,
Ohio; B.F. Goodrich Facility, Troy, Ohio; and Rockwell International's
Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, Calif.

- end -

Editors Note: Photographs of the CV-990 tests can be

obtained by calling the Dryden Flight Research Center Public Affairs
Office. The photo numbers are: EC92 05275-30, EC92 12221-1, EC92
12221-2, EC93 41018-5, EC93 41018-6, EC93 41018-18. These photos also
are available via Internet by sending a message to
ttp://ww.dfrf.NASA.gov/photo server/photo server/htl.

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