Parasev: Difference between revisions
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Parasev photo collection by NASA: [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Paresev/] |
Parasev photo collection by NASA: [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Paresev/] |
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== References == |
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Suggested categories: NASA experimental glider |
Suggested categories: NASA experimental glider |
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Revision as of 04:10, 7 August 2007
Parasev, (a.k.a: Para Wing Research Vehicle) was an experimental NASA glider aircraft that was designed to study the ability of the Rogallo wing to fly a payload such as the Gemini space capsule safely from high altitude to ground.
Background
It was on October 4, 1957 when the Russian satellite Sputnik shocked the United States and the space race caught the imagination of its government, causing major increases in U.S. government spending on scientific research, education and on the immediate creation of NASA. NASA began a series of experiments testing the flexible Rogallo wing -which got renamed Para Wing- in order to evaluate it as a recovery system for the Gemini space capsules and recovery of used Saturn rocket stages.[1][2]
Design & construction
The Parasev was unpowered, the 'fuselage' an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel tubing referred to as a 'space frame.' The keel and leading edges of the wing were constructed of 2 1/2-inch diameter aluminium tubing. The leading edge sweep angle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader bar. Additional wing structure fabricated of steel tubing ensured structural integrity. On August 24th. 1962, seven weeks after the project was initiated, the team rolled out the Parasev 1.[3]
Test pilots
- Milton Orville Thompson.
- Apgar Champine.[4]
Research outcome
The Parasev and other flexible wing projects such as the Fleep[5] were discarded by NASA on 1965 in favor of using conventional round parachutes, but the wing's simplicity of design and ease of construction, along with its capability of slow flight and its gentle landing characteristics, did not go unnoticed by hang glider and ultralight glider enthusiasts. Publicity from the Parasev test sparked interest in the design among several tinkerers, including the Australian, John Dickenson[6] who is rightfully credited with inventing the flexible wing hang glider by producing a foldable and light frame to fit a Rogallo wing and be used as a foot-launched hang glider.<ref>
==Images=History of flexible wing hang gliding. Parasev photo collection by NASA: [7]
- ^ SPACEFLIGHT REVOLUTION [1]
- ^ On 1965 Jack Swigert, who would later be one of the Apollo 13 astronauts, softly landed a full-scale Gemini capsule using a Rogallo wing stiffened with inflatable tubes along the wing’s edges
- ^ Construction & dated images: [2]
- ^ Apgar Champine, biography:[3]
- ^ NASA's Fleep was a heavily framed cargo aircraft tested as a "flying Jeep" for transporting supplies over enemy lines, this two-person aircraft used a small engine for power and a Rogallo wing for lift[4]
- ^ Smithsonian National Air & space Museum [5]
![[4]](http://dayton.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-001271.jpg){kind=link}
Suggested categories: NASA experimental glider