This is How NASA Flight Tests New Technology

Flight tests are a big part of how NASA turns breakthrough ideas into reality. From flying humans faster than the speed of sound to proving designs that helped shape the space shuttle, flight testing transforms bold concepts into safer, more efficient technologies that benefit the public. “Flight tests are a way to safely and effectively prove new technology, which helps certification authorities certify equipment,” said Wayne Ringelberg, chief pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “It helps industry iterate and make systems better, and it promotes research in areas where new ideas can be developed.” For nearly 80 years, teams at NASA Armstrong have used flight testing in the Southern California desert to push the limits of aerodynamics and advance aviation. Thanks to that work, NASA-developed innovations are aboard every U.S. commercial aircraft and inside every control tower today. “The space side of NASA uses flight test, too. Every mission, like Artemis II, is never routine,” Ringelberg said. “Everything we’re doing when flying a test mission is something new or different.” Every NASA test flight — whether it’s studying new software, hardware, or the revolutionary technology of an experimental X-plane — relies on engineers, researchers, pilots, maintenance crew, control room operators, and many others working together. “Experienced operators and engineers evaluate how things work in flight,” Ringelberg said. …