Aeronautics Test Program

NASA’s 

The Right Facility at the Right Time

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

With NASA facilities located at the Ames Research 

Center (ARC) in Mountain View, California, the 

Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, 

Ohio, and the Langley Research Center 

(LaRC) in Hampton, Virginia, the ATP 

offers government, corporations, and 

institutions a wide range of experimental 

test services that reflect 60 years of 

unmatched aerospace test history. The ATP 

maintains a nationwide team of highly trained 

and certified staff, whose backgrounds and education 

encompass every aspect of aerospace testing and engineering. Facility Speci

fication

s

NASA’s Aeronautics Test Program (ATP) is a model program 

created to preserve the capabilities of the largest, most versatile, and

comprehensive set of testing facilities in the nation.

Regardless of the 

test requirements, 

NASA’s ATP can 

provide its clients 

with test results 

of unparalleled 

superiority. 

Hypersonic Facilities

8-Foot High-Temperature Tunnel

This combustion-heated, blow-down-to-atmosphere tunnel 

at LaRC duplicates flight enthalpies at hypersonic conditions 

Mach 4 to 7 and accommodates large air-breathing 

propulsion systems and Thermal Protection System 

components. Tests of note include a Pratt & Whitney and 

U.S. Air Force test on the Ground Demonstrator Engine No. 2 

(GDE–2) to better understand how test conditions influence 

the internal/external profile shapes of the engine and to 

document in detail any changes to its form. This landmark 

test also successfully demonstrated for the first time the 

use of a closed-loop hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet 

propulsion system at hypersonic conditions.

Aerothermodynamics Laboratory

The Aerothermodynamics Laboratory 

at LaRC is a collection of three small, 

economical hypersonic tunnels 

used for basic fundamental flow 

physics research, aerodynamic 

performance measurements, 

and aero heating assessment. 

Many of the studies are aimed 

at screening, assessing, optimizing and benchmarking 

(when combined with computational fluid dynamics) 

advanced aerospace vehicle 

concepts. Collectively, these 

tunnels have contributed to 

many major hypersonic vehicle 

programs from the Apollo Space 

Program to the recent X–43A 

scramjet that flew at Mach 7 

in March 2004 and Mach 9.6 in 

November 2004. These facilities also 

provide vital support to the development 

of NASA’s CEV.

For additional information on ATP’s ground-test facilities, 

please visit the following Web site:

http://aeronautics.nasa.gov/programs_atp.htm

B–1240

Oct 06

11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility

National Transonic Facility

Transonic Dynamics Tunnel

8-Foot High-Temperature Tunnel

9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel

14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel

20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel

4-Foot Supersonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel

Icing Research Tunnel

10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Aerothermodynamics Laboratory

8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

9- by 7-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Speed

0.20 to 1.45 Mach

0.1 to 1.2 Mach

0.1 to 1.2 Mach

4, 5, and 7 Mach

0 to 0.20 Mach

0 to 0.3 Mach

0 to 85 ft/s

1.5 to 2.9 and 2.3 to 4.6 Mach

50 to 395 mph

0 to 0.4 and 2.0 to 3.5 Mach

6 and 10 Mach

0.25 to 2.0 and 0.0 to 0.1 Mach

1.55 to 2.55 Mach

Reynolds number, per foot

0.30 to 9.6×106

4 to 146×106

0.30 to 3×106 and 0.2 to 10×106

0.30 to 5.1×106

0 to 1.4×106

0 to 2.1×106

0 to 0.15×106

0.5 to 6×106 and 0.5 to 11×106

—

0.1 to 3.4×106 (closed-loop) and 2.1 to 2.7×106 (open-loop)

 0.05 to 0.7×106, 0.2 to 2.2×106, and 0.5 to 8.0×106

1.7 to 4.8×106

0.50 to 5.7×106
greatly improved efficiency and capability. Major clients include 

the Department of Defense and aircraft manufacturers such as 

Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.

20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel

The 20-Foot Vertical Spin Tunnel at LaRC is the only wind tunnel 

in the Western Hemisphere configured for free-spin tests using 

the dynamically scaled model technique. This unique capability 

is used to significantly reduce risk during airplane flight 

tests by identifying potential spin modes, control techniques 

required for spin recovery, and spin chute size requirements. 

Other capabilities include static force and moment, surface 

pressures, rotary balance, and forced oscillation measurements. 

Recent tests include free-spin testing of a Generic Transport 

Model (GTM), rotary balance tests of the ARES Mars Airplane 

configuration, and free-fall dynamic stability tests of a lunar 

sample return atmospheric entry capsule. These are just a few 

of the projects conducted to support the vital missions of NASA, 

Federal agencies, and industry.

Icing Research Tunnel

While there are numerous wind tunnels worldwide, the Icing 

Research Tunnel (IRT) is a rare and unusual facility located at 

GRC. Currently, the IRT is the U.S.’s largest refrigerated wind 

tunnel, devoted to investigating the myriad issues of aircraft 

icing. The tunnel simulates natural icing conditions to test the 

effects of in-flight icing on various aircraft components and 

scale models. The goal of the IRT is to replicate the Federal 

Aviation Administration (FAA) aircraft icing certification 

standards contained in the Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 

Part 25, appendix C. These tests reflect NASA’s goals of assuring 

operational safety and advancement of critical aeronautics 

technologies to provide safer air transportation.

Transonic Facilities

11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility 

The Unitary Plan Facility at ARC is an 11-foot transonic facility 

long known as a “workhorse” for the United States aeronautics 

industry. This facility has been used in the development of 

virtually every domestically produced commercial transport and 

military fixed-wing airframe since the 1960s. The 11-foot facility 

is used extensively for airframe development and aerodynamic 

studies and has played a vital role in every manned space-flight 

program, including NASA’s Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). A 

major test series in support of the exploration mission is testing 

parachutes for future unmanned probes to Mars.

Propulsion Systems Laboratory

The Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) at GRC is a fullscale altitude engine test facility for air-breathing propulsion 

systems research and development. The PSL can accurately 

create temperature and pressure inlet conditions that 

propulsion systems experience in high-speed, high-altitude 

flight. Of the two test chambers, PSL–3 is used primarily for 

all facets of advanced aircraft research. PSL–4 incorporates 

a high temperature and pressure inlet plenum that meets 

the needs of high-speed and high-altitude propulsion 

system research for high-performance aviation and access 

to space applications. The PSL uses specialized systems 

to investigate these future propulsion systems, including 

liquid and gaseous fuels, multiaxis thrust measurements, 

and exhaust vectoring and collection.

Subsonic Facilities

9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel

The 9- by 15-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel at GRC 

has nationally recognized capabilities to evaluate the 

aerodynamic performance and acoustic characteristics of 

fans, nozzles, inlets, and propellers. The tunnel can simulate 

takeoff, approach, and landing in a continuous subsonic 

flow wind tunnel environment including the investigation 

of hot gas re-ingestion of short takeoff and vertical landing 

(STOVL) concepts. The acoustically treated test section and 

microphones linked to a dynamic data system allow stateof-the-art acoustic measurements to frequencies as low 

as 250 Hz for research in reducing aircraft noise. Recent 

programs supported in this facility include the High-Speed 

Civil Transport, the Advanced Tactical Fighter, as well as the 

General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) next-generation 

(GEnx) engine.

14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel

The 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel at LaRC typically 

performs conventional performance testing for fixed-wing 

and rotorcraft configurations over a wide range of takeoff, 

landing, cruise, and high angle-of-attack conditions. 

However, this versatile facility can easily be reconfigured 

for acoustic, tethered free flight, forced oscillation (dynamic 

stability), and motor sports testing as well. The 14- by 22-

foot tunnel also has the flexibility to test in either closed 

(walls, ceiling, and floor) or open (floor only) test section 

configurations. Recent upgrades to the facility automation 

system and fan motor (from 8000 to 12 000 hp) have 

National Transonic Facility

The National Transonic Facility (NTF) at LaRC is a large 

transonic, cryogenic, and closed-circuit pressure tunnel that 

provides the highest Reynolds number testing capability in 

the world. The NTF can use either air or cryogenic nitrogen 

as the test gas, depending on client testing requirements. In 

the cryogenic mode, the NTF can match and selectively isolate 

Mach number, Reynolds number, and aeroelastic effects to 

accurately determine and understand vehicle performance. 

The facility provides testing and configuration aerodynamics 

validation for both full- and half-span models for existing and 

new vehicle concepts.

Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 

The Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) at LaRC is the 

world’s premier wind tunnel for testing large aeroelastically 

scaled models at transonic speeds. TDT investigations 

include tests of a NASA/Boeing Modern Transport to obtain 

steady and unsteady pressures on a wing and nacelle at 

transonic conditions, testing a Smart Vehicle Configuration 

to demonstrate the aerodynamic effectiveness of minibump 

control effectors, and a test of the CEV Dynamic Model to 

measure dynamic-pitch damping data. Additionally, a major 

project with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 

(DARPA), Lockheed Martin, and NexGen focused on the 

development of Morphing Aircraft Structures (MAS) vehicles 

that undergo radical shape change to optimize performance in 

different flight regimes.

Supersonic Facilities

9- by 7-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

The 9- by 7-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at ARC, which 

shares the drive line with the 11-foot tunnel, has also been 

used extensively in the development of virtually every domestic 

fixed wing airframe that operates in supersonic regimes and 

has played a critical role in space exploration. This facility 

has provided ascent and reentry aerodynamic data for every 

NASA-designed, manned space-flight program, including the 

space shuttle and NASA’s Constellation Program. The facility 

is also slated to test parachutes for future unmanned probes 

to Mars.

4-Foot Supersonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel

The Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT), one of LaRC’s core 

facilities, is a versatile, heavily utilized wind tunnel capable of 

supporting basic fluid dynamics research as well as applied 

aerodynamic research. This facility, which is utilized 

by NASA, DOD, and industry customers, contributes 

significantly to the development, assessment, and 

optimization of advanced aerospace vehicle concepts. The 

facility is utilized in support of major research programs 

such as Hyper-X (X43), X–43C, JSF, DARPA QSP, CEV, and 

Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV). UPWT contributions include 

both database development during the configuration 

design screening process, a first phase in configuration 

selection for a particular mission, and benchmarking 

the aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic configuration 

information for the selected mission concept. The UPWT, 

which is the only large operational supersonic tunnel at 

LaRC, is critical to LaRC’s and NASA’s mission.

8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

The 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at GRC 

provides researchers the opportunity to test aerodynamic 

and propulsion models at subsonic, transonic, and 

supersonic speeds from Mach 0.25 to 2.0. Specialized 

support systems, a variety of research test hardware, 

and a calibrated test section support the development 

of aircraft, launch vehicles, and their components. 

Traditional tests include vehicle force and moment, inlet 

airframe integration, sonic boom mitigation, and inlet 

performance. The 8- by 6-foot tunnel has supported 

major programs such as the Advanced Turboprop, the 

National Aerospace Plane, the Advanced Tactical Fighter, 

the Joint Strike Fighter, the High-Speed Civil Transport, 

and the space shuttle.

10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

The 10- by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at GRC is a 

dual-cycle wind tunnel that operates either as a closedloop (aerodynamic cycle) or open-loop (propulsion 

cycle) facility, reaching test section speeds of Mach 

2.0 to 3.5. The tunnel can test supersonic aerodynamic 

and propulsion components such as inlets and nozzles, 

integrated propulsion systems, full-scale jet and rocket 

engines, and launch vehicle concepts. It provides 

continuous operation across the speed and altitude ranges, 

offering users greater flexibility and productivity during 

testing. The 10- by 10-foot tunnel has made contributions 

to the space shuttle, the High-Speed Civil Transport, the 

National AeroSpace Plane, the Joint Strike Fighter, and to 

the advancement of fundamental supersonic propulsion 

technology.