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Space Flight Prints


Aviation Art Prints Countries US Space Flight

[UP] - Aircraft Index - Squadron Index - Space Flight

Space flight art print collection.

A Not So Routine Service Call by Stan Stokes.


A Not So Routine Service Call by Stan Stokes.
One edition.
£35.00

Faster and Higher by Stan Stokes.


Faster and Higher by Stan Stokes.
4 of 5 editions available.
All 2 editions featuring an additional signature are available.
£35.00 - £145.00

Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap by Stuart Brown.


Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap by Stuart Brown.
One of 2 editions available.
Both editions feature an additional signature.
£200.00


A Heritage of Excellence by Stan Stokes.

A Heritage of Excellence by Stan Stokes.
One of 4 editions available.
£195.00



Text for the above items :

A Not So Routine Service Call by Stan Stokes.

For thousands of years man has been fascinated by the heavens. Astronomy has evolved over the centuries, but all ground telescopes are handicapped because the Earths atmosphere distorts images and limits the ability to make observations. The Space Telescope was envisioned as an international effort to create a major breakthrough in astronomy. By place a huge telescope in Earth orbit, the limitations of ground-based observation would be overcome. Astronomers would be able to see objects 50 times fainter and 7 times farther away than before. The scope of the universe that could be seen would be 500 times greater than before. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to do the job. It weighs 12.5 tons, is 43 feet long, and utilizes a huge 94.5 inch mirror. To get the Hubble into space one of NASAs space orbiters or shuttles, as they have popularly become known, was utilized. The shuttle crew did a great job, but unfortunately the telescope was flawed and could not properly focus. Fortunately the Hubble was designed to be serviced by astronauts with many of its components designed as orbital replacement units. Features such as handrails and foot restraints were built into the Hubble to assist astronauts in executing repairs. A shuttle repair mission was organized to send astronauts into space to recapture the telescope and make necessary repairs. This mission was flawlessly excuted by Endeavour in 1993. NASAs predecessor organization the NACA was organized in 1915 to focus on the science behind aircraft design. The NACA worked on airfoils, deicing, cowling design, etc. in its early years. During the Cold War the NACA flourished as it combined forces with many military programs like the X-1 and X-15. These programs moved the agency beyond its traditional research role and gave them design and program management responsibilities. When the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, the NACA was changed forever. Renamed NASA, the agencys budgets were greatly expanded and the new NASA was thrust into the spotlight as Americas answer to Soviet space might. NASA successfully managed the huge program to land men on the Moon. The post Apollo era was not necessarily clearly focused for NASA. While some believe the agency floundered after Apollo, NASA made important progress during this time in the areas of hypersonic flight, and their contributions resulted in jet engines with less noise, better economy reduced pollution, The shuttle program was started under the guidance of Dr. James C. Fletcher who was the administrator of NASA in the 1970s. The loss of the Challenger in 1986 was a setback for the agency, and Fletcher returned to his former position to refocus the agency, which according to its skeptics had become to large and bureaucratic. Although NASA has sometimes ventured far afield from its original mission, the science and dynamics of flight, whether for an aircraft or a spacecraft, remain the pervasive foundation of all that NASA does.


Faster and Higher by Stan Stokes.

In late 1954 requests for proposals went out for a hypersonic aircraft capable of Mach 7 and a ceiling of 50 miles. This was to be the third aircraft in the experimental series (following the X-1 and X-2), and its mission would be to explore the upper ranges of the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds. North American won the contract in 1955. The North American X-15 research aircraft, the most successful research aircraft in history, has flown faster and higher than any manned aircraft. Powered by a rocket motor generating 57,000 pounds of thrust by burning a combination of liquid oxygen and anhydrous ammonia, the X-15 was launched from a specially modified B-52 mother ship for each of its flights. Because of the high temperatures which would be encountered in flight, special alloys were incorporated in the design. At extreme altitudes, when in fact the X-15 would technically be in space, the aircraft was controlled by a thruster system using hydrogen peroxide jets. On the aircrafts first non-powered flight on June 8, 1959, North Americans test pilot Scott Crossfield had his hands full trying to land the X-15. Nine days later the X-15 embarked on its first powered flight, and obtained a speed of Mach 2.3. Eventually, Crossfield would take the X-15 to an altitude of 81,200 feet and a speed of Mach 2.97 on November 15, 1960. The aircraft was then turned over to NASA which would put the aircraft through a series of dazzling record-breaking flights over the next few years. NASA test pilot Joe Walker took the X-15 to an altitude of 67 miles, which is 17 miles beyond what is considered to be the outer limits of the Earths atmosphere. This is the highest altitude ever reached by a manned aircraft, not considering the Space Shuttle. One of the X-15s was modified and on October 3, 1967 Major William Pete Knight reached the amazing speed of Mach 6.72. Over nearly a decade of test flights the X-15 was piloted by only twelve men. Included in this exclusive group were Neil Armstrong, and Michael Adams, who was killed in an X-15 accident. William H. Dana was the last pilot to fly the X-15 on its final flight on October 24, 1968. Reaching Mach 5.38 and an altitude of 255,000 feet the flight was successful. After approximately 200 flights, the X-15 program was terminated in late 1968. The information obtained from these flights had numerous benefits to both the American space program, and to the development of high speed fixed wing aircraft.


Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap by Stuart Brown.

The most incredible 614mph freefall from the edge of space, celebrated in this superb limited edition print, signed by the skydiving legend himself, Colonel Joe W Kittinger.
Kittinger performed three extreme altitude jumps during August 1960 as part of the USAF research project Excelsior - a precursor to the US space race designed to test human survivability. Excelsior III was the climax of the operation. Leaping from the gondola of a 200ft diameter helium balloon, Kittinger spent four minutes thirty six seconds in freefall. Passing through 90,000ft, his speed reached an incredible 614mph (almost the speed of sound in the thin freezing air of the upper atmosphere) before his multi stage parachute slowed his descent - opening the main chute at 18,000ft.


A Heritage of Excellence by Stan Stokes.

CV-12 is the eighth USN warship to bear the name Hornet. She participated in numerous combat operations for the last 16months of WWII. While operating in the Far East in support of operations in Vietnam, the Hornet participated in several Apollo recovery missions including that of Apollo 11 in 1969.

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