Public Affairs, Volume 63, Number 58
Serving the community of Edwards Air Force Base California www.edwards.af.mil - www.facebook.com/EdwardsAirForceBase
September 9, 2016
Bombs away! Left: A photo-based graphic shows F-35 AF-1 releasing a GBU-12 during a weapons separation test June 17. The GBU-12 (Guided Bomb Unit) is a laser-guided 500-pound bomb. Below: AF-1 flies over the Pacific Coast Highway near Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station during the GBU-12 separation testing mission. The F-35 has surpassed several major milestones this year. The Air Force declared the aircraft’s Initial Operational Capability August 2, and the F-35 Integrated Test Force completed a weapons separation testing surge August 17. During the surge, the F-35 released 30 weapons in 31 days, a first for flight test. The aircraft also scored its first air-to-air kill during a missile test July 28. (Photos by by Jonathan Case, graphic by Chad Bellay. Courtesy of Lockheed Martin)
Air Force advances rocket technology
The United States is one step closer to eliminating its reliance on Russian technology to launch its military satellites. The Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstrator, a U.S. Air Force technology effort focused on development of Oxygen Rich Staged Combustion rocket engine technology, has recently completed its first full-scale component test at 100-percent power. The development of Oxygen Rich Staged Combustion technology has been deemed a critical technology for the nation to help eliminate the United States’ reliance on foreign rocket propulsion technology. The testing was performed by Aerojet Rocketdyne under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory Rocket Propulsion Division, nicknamed the AFRL Rocket Lab. The HBTD’s kick pump is the first full-scale component to commence testing. The AFRL Rocket Lab recently completed the test campaign
of HBTD’s sub-scale preburner at its test facilities at Edwards Air Force Base in the same historic facility that tested the F-1 engine for the Project Apollo Saturn V program and RS-68 engines for the Delta IV expendable launch vehicle system. The kick pump was tested at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facility in Sacramento, California, which has been used continually through Titan missile, Apollo and space shuttle programs. The kick pump is a complex turbopump assembly made up of both a turbine and pump, hence the term turbopump. It is designed to be extremely compact and rotates at punishing speeds to meet extraordinarily high efficiencies required for space access, even down to one-third of engine power levels - a severe challenge for current state-of-the-art turbopumps, system designers say. The kick pump operates in excess of 75,000 rpm at its 100-perSee Rocket, Page 2
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…And they’re off! Airmen get a running start at a fitness dash in June that began at the Rosburg Fitness Center. The 412th Medical Group’s Health Promotions office is sponsoring two fitness events in the near future. - Monday through September 30, people can sign up for the Edwards Slightly INSANE Challenge. From 6 to 10 a.m. each week day, competitors can sign up for 30-minute slots to run through seven stations on the fitness center track. The seven stations are, pullups, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, box jumps, tire flips, ropes, and a 400-meter run. - A fitness dash will be held Wednesday at 7 a.m., at the Rosburg Fitness Center. The run will take place on the fitness center’s trail. Those interested can participate alone or as a team. Teams need to have a minimum of four members with at least one female team member. The dash is 1.2-miles long and has eight stations; squats, push-ups, tuck jumps, bear crawls, butterfly sit-ups, mountain climbers, seated leg pull-ins, burpees, and a sprint to the finish line. Both events are open to competitors of all levels. For more information, or to sign up, contact Eugene McClelland at 277-9427.
Rocket technology to help ease U.S. reliance on foreign propulsion From Rocket, Page 1 cent power level. The component is a critical element of the engine as it “kicks” a portion of fuel up to the extremely high pressures demanded by other engine components, without requiring the engine to pump all the fuel to that pressure. This drastically reduces the size, weight, cost, and complexity of the engine. The implementation of this kick pump in an ORSC engine provides for a performance improvement compared to other foreign engines, such as the Russian RD-180. “This is an exciting day in the rocket propulsion industry,” said Dr. Shawn Phillips, the Rocket Propulsion Division chief. “The completion of this test is a key milestone that has been years in the making. So far everything looks good; there were no anomalies and the data indicates that the pump is functioning nominally.” Phillips added that this test effectively achieves the harshest test point of the kick pump test campaign. Robert Bernstein, AFRL’s Hydrocarbon Boost program manager, said “The 100-percent test confirms that the kick pump is operating as designed, but we’re not done putting it through its paces. There are more than 100 tests before we’re ready to integrate the kick pump with the rest of the engine. The next battery of tests will refine our understanding of how this pump operates and provide the data we need to gear up for testing of the demonstrator engine.” The sheer number and duration of tests is beyond that of typical test campaigns for development pumps and is an example of the technological push and intense research focus of the HBTD program. As the campaign progresses, the kick pump will be pushed to its limits, testing the pump’s efficien-
cy and the potential life of the bearings and seals. These tests will provide data from 113 instruments that will continuously monitor the pump’s health during operation and allow engineers to directly measure parameters that would otherwise need to be determined analytically. This is one of the most highly instrumented turbopumps of its size ever developed and will provide critical data to the full-scale demonstrator engine test campaign, Bernstein said. The demonstrator engine will integrate the kick pump with other full-scale components like the main turbopump and preburner for integrated powerhead testing. “The massive amount of data we’ll be collecting will validate some key technologies and help us reduce risk for the full-scale demonstrator engine,” said Bernstein. The demonstrator engine’s full-scale components are designed for 250,000 pounds of thrust and a throttling range of 33 to 100 percent, eclipsing the performance and efficiencies of domestic and foreign rocket engines of today. The testing of the full-scale components will help the U.S. rocket industry understand one of the most challenging rocket engine technologies ever developed and is intended to achieve the ambitious goals of the Rocket Propulsion Directorate for the 21st Century rocket propulsion program, said Bernstein. This activity will benefit the Air Force and the nation by demonstrating the viability of key technologies and materials necessary for this cycle while making available the design and data to all of the American aerospace industry he said. The lessons learned from the HBTD program are vital to maintaining America’s superiority in rocket and space technology, Bernstein said.
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Team Edwards ‘pushes’ for suicide prevention
By Maj. Kevin Hooker 412th Medical Operations Squadron
Twenty-two veterans are lost to suicide every day, according to a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs report. In recognition of September being Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Team Edwards is recruiting individuals to participate in the 22 push-up challenge. This challenge is meant to raise awareness of the alarmingly high suicide rate among veterans. Members of the military, civilians, contractors, dependents, and everyone associated with Team Edwards are invited and encouraged to participate in this awareness campaign. The goal is to have 1,000 people sign-up for the challenge and complete a total of 484,000 push-ups across the installation. The Veterans Administration updated
the 2012 report with updated estimates this year that suggest the number of veteran suicides has decreased to 20 per day. However, other studies have indicated that the number could be as high as 30 per day due to underreporting or not being able to confirm the death as suicide. Through September, booths will be placed across the base to get people to sign-up and commit to the 22 pushup challenge. The booths will include pledge sheets and information about suicide awareness and support resources. Additionally, some units will have their own POCs to garner pledges. Honor Courage Commitment, Inc. started the #22KILL movement in 2013 to raise awareness not only about veteran suicide, but also about the mental health issues that can potentially lead to suicide. The 22 push-up challenge is a com-
mitment to do 22 push-ups for 22 days. Adults, kids, celebrities, professional and Olympic athletes, and people of all shapes and sizes have been participating in the challenge to raise awareness for veteran suicides. For more information, call Maj. Kevin Hooker, installation suicide prevention manager, or Staff Sgt. Stephanie Bracely at 277-5291.
Above: Senior Airman David Corley, 812th Civil Engineer Squadron, signs up for the 22-Push-Up Challenge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Christopher Ball) Left: Senior Airman David Corley and Airman 1st Class Andres Simmons of the 812th Civil Engineer Squadron join Maj. Kevin Hooker and Airman 1st Class Gabriel Osirus of the 412th Medical Operations Squadron in their first set for the 22-Push-Up Challenge (U.S. Air Force photo by Christopher Ball)
Test Wing’s Innovation Team takes imaginative field trip A member of the 412th Test Wing Innovation Team was responsible for organizing an imaginitive field trip recently. Jessica Benveniste organized a team visit to Walt Disney Imagineering's research and development facility in Glendale, California, July 20. But rather than getting paid to visit Disneyland and enjoy the rides, the team spent the day in a conference room with a team of Disney imagineers who shared their views and methods for fostering innovation. According to team members, some of the key insights from the day included: Innovation takes effort, time and risk. The goal is to get from A to B, not A to Z. Then they try to identify the issues that will lead to failure and mitigate them or terminate the project early when there’s
little to lose. It’s important to incentivize hard work and taking risks even when failure occurs. Disney provides their imagineers with time and seed funding to pursue their innovative ideas. Dave Crawford, who leads the Disney Research and Development team, stressed the importance of developing face-to-face relationships, providing access to leaders and understanding that innovation works best when there is a clear push from the top. He also spoke about the need to balance passion with capability and the requirement for transparency in the innovation process. Every imagineer is held responsible for knowing what aligns with Disney’s core business and to be looking at the future and how to offer what people cannot get anywhere else. They identify
transfer partners early on in the process and then involve them in the work in order to gain emotional engagement rather than just technical involvement. This method leads to better solutions and a higher probability of success. Imagineers are encouraged to “QUESTION EVERYTHING!” They operate on the principle of the minimum viable product and rely on simple tests where they evaluate the most basic assumption of the idea first in order to minimize risk and maximize effectiveness. Hiring the right people is critical to their culture. They look for people who are not only smart and interesting, but a little quirky too. People who are worldclass at something and above average in everything else. (Article courtesy of the 412th Test Wing Innovation Team)
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This week in Edwards Flight Test History On Sep 4, 1957, the Lockheed C-140 Jet Star made its first flight. According to the Edwards History Office it was designed and flown in only eight months. The light utility transport featured two axial-flow jet engines mounted on the aft fuselage. The C-140 tested new innovations in crash safety, noise suppression and aerodynamics. Later production versions of the aircraft used four lightweight J60P-5 engines mounted in pairs. (Edwards History Office file photo)
A farewell to arms? Military Working Dog Rolf takes a bite out of Staff Sgt. James Ramsey, 412th Security Forces Squadron dog handler, during a training session at the Edwards working dog facility.
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Commander, 412th TW ................... Brig. Gen Carl Shaefer Installation Support Director ..................... Dr. David Smith Command Chief .............. Chief Master Sgt. Todd Simmons Director, 412th TW, Public Affairs ................... Ed Buclatin Editors ........................... Kenji Thuloweit, Christopher Ball Contributor ................................................. Dawn Waldman To submit articles or upcoming events send an email to newsroom@edwards.af.mil
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