Posts: 3741
From: Netherlands
Registered: Nov 2001

posted 05-24-2024 12:21 PM               

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NASA pilot Bruce Peterson smiles after the first flight of the HL-10 lifting body on December 22, 1966. Although the craft was predicted to have good flying qualities, this first flight showed major control and stability problems. The cause was airflow separation from the vehicle's fins. Changes to the fins' leading-edge shape fixed the problem.

Posts: 1774
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 05-24-2024 01:05 PM               

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Wow, great photo of Bruce Peterson in better days, Ed! And a topic that is one of my faves!

Here are a couple of postal covers for this flight, autographed by Peterson:

Just a few months later on May 10, 1967, Peterson had a landing accident in the M2-F2 lifting body, receiving severe facial injuries and eventually losing an eye...