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HomeMissionsHumans in SpaceEarth & ClimateThe Solar SystemThe UniverseScienceAeronauticsTechnologyLearning ResourcesAbout NASAEspañol			News & Events
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 Featured NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for their mission in the company’s Starliner spacecraft simulator at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.4 min readNASA’s Commercial Partners Deliver Cargo, Crew for Station Sciencearticle1 week ago A HI-C launches with trees in the background.4 min readHi-C Rocket Experiment Achieves Never-Before-Seen Look at Solar Flaresarticle1 day ago NASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.5 min readNASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.article1 day ago
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 News & Events All NASA NewsVideo Series on NASA+PodcastsBlogsNewslettersSocial MediaMedia ResourcesUpcoming Launches & LandingsVirtual Events
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 Highlights Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

	2 min read

		Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

		article

			13 hours ago A HI-C launches with trees in the background.

	4 min read

		Hi-C Rocket Experiment Achieves Never-Before-Seen Look at Solar Flares

		article

			1 day ago NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

	4 min read

		NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

		article

			1 day ago
 Highlights 4 min read

		NASA Mission Strengthens 40-Year Friendship

		article

			1 day ago 4 min read

		NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science

		article

			2 days ago NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for their mission in the company’s Starliner spacecraft simulator at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

	4 min read

		NASA’s Commercial Partners Deliver Cargo, Crew for Station Science

		article

			1 week ago
 Highlights NASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.

	5 min read

		NASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.

		article

			1 day ago Two Small NASA Satellites Will Measure Soil Moisture, Volcanic Gases

	4 min read

		Two Small NASA Satellites Will Measure Soil Moisture, Volcanic Gases

		article

			2 days ago Colorado River

	5 min read

		NASA-Led Study Provides New Global Accounting of Earth’s Rivers

		article

			1 week ago
 Highlights NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

	4 min read

		NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

		article

			1 day ago Orbits and Kepler’s Laws

	9 min read

		Orbits and Kepler’s Laws

		article

			1 day ago 4 min read

		NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science

		article

			2 days ago
 Featured Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

	2 min read

		Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

		article

			13 hours ago Multiwavelength image of the Cloverleaf ORC

	5 min read

		X-ray Satellite XMM-Newton Sees ‘Space Clover’ in a New Light

		article

			1 day ago NASA/JAXA’s XRISM Mission Captures Unmatched Data With Just 36 Pixels

	3 min read

		NASA/JAXA’s XRISM Mission Captures Unmatched Data With Just 36 Pixels

		article

			3 days ago
 Highlights Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

	2 min read

		Hubble Hunts Visible Light Sources of X-Rays

		article

			13 hours ago A scientist examines a sample through a microscope while backlit by a red and white image on the screen behind her.

	3 min read

		Researchers Develop ‘Founding Document’ on Synthetic Cell Development

		article

			1 day ago NASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.

	5 min read

		NASA Is Helping Protect Tigers, Jaguars, and Elephants. Here’s How.

		article

			1 day ago
 Highlights Illustration showing several future aircraft concepts flying over a mid-sized city with a handful of skyscrapers.

	7 min read

		ARMD Solicitations

		article

			5 hours ago A person stands next to a small jet engine inside a soundproofed room.

	3 min read

		NASA Uses Small Engine to Enhance Sustainable Jet Research

		article

			5 days ago Inside of an aircraft cockpit is shown from the upside down perspective with two men in tan flight suits sitting inside. The side of one helmet, oxygen mask and visor is seen for one of the two men as well as controls inside the aircraft. The second helmet is seen from the back as the man sitting in the front is piloting the aircraft. You can see land below through the window of the aircraft.

	2 min read

		NASA Photographer Honored for Thrilling Inverted In-Flight Image

		article

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 Highlights 4 min read

		NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science

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			2 days ago A stack of computer components on a white background - CGI

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			2 days ago An astronaut aboard a space shuttle points a video camera out the window.

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 Featured NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

	4 min read

		NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

		article

			1 day ago Julia Chavez

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 Highlights 4 min read

		NASA Mission Strengthens 40-Year Friendship

		article

			1 day ago aapi_2021_22_chiao_after_landing

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		Asian-American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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			2 days ago NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

	4 min read

		NASA Selects Students for Europa Clipper Intern Program

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			1 month ago Astronaut Marcos Berrios

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			2 months ago


2 min read Rotorcraft Agility Testing at the Vertical Motion Simulator


Sumedha Garud-Barna Editor
 Victoriana Delossantos
 Out-the-window view during rotorcraft agility testing at the Vertical Motion Simulator
US Army
 *The unique capabilities of the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) were utilized for testing new Future Vertical Lift (FVL) designs. Learn more about the VMS: Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center.* Almost 45 years ago, the workhorse of the United States Army, the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, took its first flight and has been in service since. With over 50 variations, the Black Hawk has proven to be perhaps the most well-rounded rotorcraft vehicle in history and its flexibility enabled the platform to remain technologically competitive over the years. The AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook follow similar narratives, however over five-plus decades since the inception of these aircraft, considerable advances in airframe designs resulting in higher aerodynamic efficiency, range, speed, and adaptability has made it difficult for these Cold War era platforms to compete with 21st century Future Vertical Lift (FVL) designs. NASA Ames Research Center’s Aviation Systems Division collaborated with the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) and the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command’s (TRADOC) FVL Operational Concept Team (OCT) to explore how FVL en-route speeds and long-range requirements affect low speed maneuverability and agility. The investigation focused on two FVL aircraft, a coaxial design and a tiltrotor design, to compare with the conventional UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Beginning in mid-February 2018, a six-week simulation was conducted at the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) utilizing these two new FVL aircraft math models in addition to a conventional UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as a baseline. The handling qualities of all three aircraft, flying precision tasks, were investigated the first two weeks. In the remaining weeks, the three aircraft flew operationally relevant full mission tasks in simulation. A total of 24 pilots, from four branches of the military, flew a total of 1825 data runs over the six-week period that will be used to evaluate the performance capability of each design. (POC: Steve Beard)


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 Page Last Updated:
								Mar 07, 2024
							Page Editor:
								Victoriana Delossantos
												Responsible NASA Official:
							Abigail Bowman