C. Gordon Fullerton is a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. His assignments include a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft. NASA logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... Dryden Flight Research Centers fleet of aircraft in 1993. ... Edwards Air Force Base is a base located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, northeast of Lancaster. ... A B-52 in flight The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force since 1954, replacing the Convair B-36 and the Boeing B-47. ... Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-412 The Boeing 747, commonly called the Jumbo Jet, is one of the most recognizable modern airliners and is the largest airliner currently in airline service. ... Atlantis transported by a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Schematic 3-view The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 jetliners that NASA uses to transport a space shuttle orbiter. ...

Fullerton, who logged more than 380 hours in space flight, was a NASA astronaut from September 1969 until November 1986 when he joined the research pilot office at Dryden. In July 1988, he completed a 30-year career with the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Colonel. He continues in his position of research pilot as a civilian. Seal of the Air Force. ... Colonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ...

As project pilot on the B-52 launch aircraft, Fullerton is involved in tests to develop a new F-111 crew module recovery system, and air launching the commercially developed Pegasus space vehicle. A U.S. Air Force F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark (the nickname was unofficial for most of its lifespan, but it was officially named Aardvark at its retirement ceremony for the United States Air Force) is a long-range strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and tactical strike aircraft. ... Pegasus rocket on the ground Pegasus rocket attached to bottom of carrier aircraft The Pegasus rocket is a winged space booster developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital). ...

Fullerton also serves as project pilot on the NASA/Convair 990 aircraft which has been modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft to test space shuttle landing gear components. NASA Convair 990 The Convair 990 Coronado was a jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics, a stretched version of their earlier Convair 880 produced in response to a request from American Airlines. ...

Additionally, Fullerton is also project pilot on F-18 Systems Research Aircraft, a testbed to develop new flight control actuators, fiber optic control systems, and other advanced aircraft technology. The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft. ...

As the project pilot on the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft program, he successfully landed an F-15 with all control surfaces fixed, using only engine thrust modulation for control. The project continues with the goal of flight testing a similar system in an MD-11 transport. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the U.S. Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ... Varig MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is a Widebody Trijet powered by three engines. ...

In addition to these current activities, Fullerton has been project pilot on a number of other research programs at Dryden. Among them were the C-140 Jetstar Laminar Flow Control, F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing, F-14 Variable Sweep Flow Transition, space shuttle orbiter drag chute and F-111 crew module parachute tests with the B-52, and X-29 vortex flow control. The Lockheed L-1329 JetStar is a business jet produced in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Sailors prepare an F-14 Tomcat for flight on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003). ... The Grumman X-29 explored a number of new technologies, the most immediately obvious being the forward swept wings (FSW) and canard control surface. ...

With over 13,000 hours of flying time, Fullerton has piloted 114 different types of aircraft, including full qualification in the T-33, T-34, T-37, T-39, F-86, F-101, F-106, F-111, F-14, X-29, KC-135, C-140, B-47. Categories: Aircraft stubs | U.S. military trainer aircraft 1940-1949 ... A Beechcraft T-34B Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is a military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza. ... T-37s in formation One of the most prominent of the trainer-attack type aircraft is the Cessna T-37/A-37, known in various forms as the Tweety Bird, Tweet, Dragonfly, or Super Tweet. ... The North American T-39 Sabreliner was a trainer version of the commercial North American Aviation Sabreliner used both by the US Air Force and the US Navy. ... The first proposals for the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre were made in 1944, but construction was not begun until after World War II. Many elements of German jet design were implemented in the Sabre, after the American liberation troops captured a number of working Messerschmitt Me 262 experimental... The McDonnell F-101 Voodoo was a supersonic military aircraft flown by the USAF and the RCAF. Initially designed as a long-range bomber escort (known as a penetration fighter) for the Strategic Air Command, the Voodoo served in a variety of other roles, including the fighter bomber, all-weather... The Convair F-106A Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft for the US Air Force from the 1960s through the late 1970s. ... The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling tanker aircraft, first manufactured in 1956 and expected to remain in service into the 2020s. ... The Boeing B-47 Stratojet jet bomber was a major postwar innovation in combat jet design, and it helped lead to the development of modern jet airliners. ...

Since joining Dryden as a research pilot, Fullerton has piloted nearly all the research and support aircraft flown at the facility and currently flies the T-38, F-18, F-15, B-52, the NASA/Convair 990, 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, and the DC-8. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to permit the U.S. Air Force to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. ... The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined jet airliner, manufactured between 1959 and 1972. ...

Born October 11, 1936, in Rochester, New York, Fullerton graduated from U.S. Grant High School, Portland, Oregon. He received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, in 1957 and 1958, respectively. A portion of Rochesters skyline, looking north along the Genesee River from the Ford Street Bridge. ... Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown Motto: Official website: http://www. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ...

Fullerton entered the U.S. Air Force in July 1958 after working as a mechanical design engineer for Hughes Aircraft Co., Culver City, California. Hughes logo adopted after his death Hughes developed the AIM-120 AMRAAM, one of the worlds most advanced air-to-air missiles Hughes Aircraft Company was a major defense/aerospace company founded by Howard Hughes. ... Culver City sign, at the northeast corner of the Sepulveda Boulevard and Centinela Avenue intersection, near the 405 and the 90 freeway interchange. ...

After primary and basic flight school he was trained as an F-86 interceptor pilot, and later became a B-47 bomber pilot at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ. In 1964 he was chosen to attend the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (now the Air Force Test Pilot School), Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Upon graduation he was assigned as a test pilot with the Bomber Operations Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. In 1966, Fullerton was selected for and served as a flight crew member for the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program until its termination in 1969. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (IATA: DMA, ICAO: KDMA), also referred to as D-M, is a key US Air Combat Command installation, located within the city limits of Tucson, in Pima County, Arizona. ... Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home... National Museum of the United States Air Force at WPAFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties, adjacent to Fairborn and Dayton, Ohio. ... Manned Orbiting Laboratory early 1960 conceptual drawing that did not use the Gemini spacecraft. ...

After assignment to the NASA Johnson Space Center, as an astronaut Fullerton served on the support crews for the Apollo 14, 15, 16 and 17 lunar missions. Apollo 14 was the eighth manned mission in the Apollo program and the third mission to land on the moon. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fifth mission to land on the Moon. ... Apollo 17 was the eleventh manned space mission in the NASA Apollo program, and was the sixth and last mission to date to land on the Moon. ...

In 1977, Fullerton was assigned to one of the two two-man flight crews which piloted the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise during the Approach and Landing Test Program at Dryden that same year. Enterprise visited pad 39-A in launch configuration 20 months before the first Shuttle launch. ...

Fullerton was the pilot on the eight-day STS-3 Space Shuttle orbital flight test mission March 22-30, 1982. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center, FL., the mission exposed the orbiter Columbia to extremes in thermal stress and tested the 50-foot Remote Manipulator System used to grapple and maneuver payloads to orbit. STS-3 landed at Northrup Strip, White Sands, New Mexico, because Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB was wet due to heavy seasonal rains. STS-3 was the third space shuttle mission, and was the third mission for the Space Shuttle Columbia. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition, 1981 (NASA). ... Merritt Island and Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is the NASA space vehicle launch facility (spaceport) at Cape Canaveral on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. ... View of the Canadarm during a Space Shuttle mission The Remote Manipulator System (RMS) on the Space Shuttle, also known as the Canadarm, is an electromechanical arm that maneuvers a payload from the payload bay of the space shuttle orbiter to its deployment position and then releases it. ... White Sands is a census-designated place located in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. ...

Fullerton was commander of the STS-51-F Spacelab 2 mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, FL, on July 29, 1985. This mission, with the orbiter Challenger was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments in the fields of astronomy, solar physics, ionospheric science, life science, and a super fluid helium experiment. The mission ended August 6, 1985, with a landing at Dryden. STS-51-F (Spacelab 2) was the nineteenth flight of a Space Shuttle and the eighth flight of Challenger. ... Spacelab in payload bay during STS-90 Spacelab is a microgravity laboratory flown into space on the Space Shuttle. ... The Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds into its final mission, STS-51-L. Space Shuttle Challenger (NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-099) was NASAs second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, after Columbia. ...

Among the special awards and honors Fullerton has received are the Iven C. Kincheloe Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1978; Department of Defense Distinguished Service and Superior Service Medals; Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross; NASA Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals; NASA Space Flight Medals in 1983 and 1985; General Thomas D. White Space Trophy; Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and the Certificate of Achievement Award from the Soaring Society of America, and the Ray E. Tenhoff Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1992 and 1993. Iven C. Kincheloe Jr. ... The Distinguished Flying Cross. ... The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the scholarly society for the field of aerospace engineering. ... The Soaring Society of America (SSA) was founded at the instigation of Warren E. Eaton to promote the sport of gliding in the USA and internationally. ... The Society of Experimental Test Pilots was founded in 1955 as the Testy Test Pilots Society and had Scott Crossfield, Ray Tenhoff, Joe Ozier, Dick Johnson, Tom Kilgariff, John Fitzpatrick as its original members. ...

Fullerton, inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982, is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots; member, Tau Beta Pi; honorary member of the National World War II Glider Pilot Association; and a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society. The International Space Hall of Fame (aka the New Mexico Museum of Space History) sits on the western face of the Sacramento Mountain range of New Mexico in the United States. ... The American Astronautical Society logo Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is the premier independent scientific and technical group in the United States exclusively dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. ...

Fullerton and his wife and their two children live in Lancaster, California. City nickname:The Heart of the Antelope Valley County Los Angeles County, California Area  - Total  - Water 243. ...

January 2003

External links

Source[1]

• Spacefacts biography of C. Gordon Fullerton

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