• November 10, 2004: Airborne Laser Program Testing

    The Airborne Laser program successfully fired all six modules of its megawatt-class Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser during a ground test at its Systems Integration Laboratory on South Base. The test, dubbed “First Light,” lasted less than one second, but verified the physics design of the new laser

  • November 9, 1954: South Base Water Tower's New Location

    At the conclusion of a six-day trek, the 90-foot water tower was settled in its new location at the High Speed Test Track. The 200,000 gallon tank was constructed in 1940 and was the Air Force Flight Test Center’s oldest official structure. The airways beacon light from the top of the tower was

  • November 8, 2000: First Flight X-45 Combat Drone

    The first Boeing X-45A (Air Vehicle No.1), dubbed “Blue,” arrived in a container aboard a C‑17 transport for testing by the Dryden Flight Research Center. Dryden was designated the Responsible Test Organization, and the Air Force Flight Test Center provided a Deputy Program Manager. The X-45

  • November 7, 1944: Scientific Advisory Board Creation

    Partly as a result of the  condition  represented by the Propeller Laboratory request, General of the Army Air Forces, Henry H. Arnold, in a memorandum to Dr.Theodore von Karman,directed  preparation of a report  as a guide for recommended  future  Army Air Forces research and development program.

  • November 6, 1985: Space Shuttle Lands on Dry Lake

    Space Shuttle Challenger landed on lakebed runway 17L following a mission (STS-61-A) devoted to materials processing experiments. This mission carried eight astronauts, the largest crew in history, and was the first to be largely financed and operated by another nation—West Germany..STS-61-A (also

  • November 5, 1959: Test Pilot Scott Crossfield

    Following launch from its B-52 carrier on its fourth powered flight, an X‑15 (serial number 6671) suffered an in-flight explosion and fire during engine ignition. Its pilot, Scott Crossfield, made a successful emergency landing on the bed of Rosamond Dry Lake, but the fuselage of the fuel-heavy

  • November 4, 1974: Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicle Sets Endurance Records

    The Teledyne Ryan YQM-98A established an unofficial endurance record for remotely piloted vehicles on its fifth flight, remaining airborne for 28 hours and 11 minutes at an altitude above 55,000 feet. In spite of this success, the Compass Cope program was canceled in July 1977 due to deficiencies in

  • November 3, 2013: Space Threat Assessment Testbed

    Engineers completed a checkout of the Space Threat Assessment Testbed (STAT) space chamber. The checkout confirmed that Arnold Engineering and Development Center’s (AEDC) newest test chamber met 100 percent of the technical requirements. The Chamber was built to test the ability of satellite

  • November 2, 2000: Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft 

    The sole remaining EC-135E Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft was flown to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. The aircraft was one of eight modified C‑135s developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the 1960s. Dubbed Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft,

  • November 1, 2010: Fitness Center Annex Rededicated

    The Fitness Center Annex – formerly the Family Fitness Center – re-opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new Air Force Flight Test Center Commander, Brigadier General Robert C. Nolan II, presided over the event, cutting the ceremonial ribbon. Although the center had been closed for about a

Search - On This Day in Test History