SV-5P_v_bw_o_n (unnumbered, 1967 Martin Marietta Corp. news bureau photo)
“BODY BUILDING IN BALTIMORE -- LIFTING BODY, THAT IS . . . The Air Force’s first manned lifting body has moved off the production jig at Martin Marietta Corporation in Baltimore. The rocket powered wingless vehicle, called SV-5P, is being built for the U.S. Air Force’s Project PILOT (Piloted LOwspeed Test) and is scheduled to make its maiden flight late this year from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. It will be carried aloft under the wing of a B-52 to 45,000 feet, released to rocket up to 100,000 feet and then make an aircraft type landing at Edwards. SV-5P will attain a speed of Mach 2 in flight but will land at conventional jet fighter speeds. A Martin Marietta-funded jet version, SV-5J, identical except for its engines, is also being built. Although a lower performance vehicle, the jet will be capable of takeoff under its own power and will serve as a test and training vehicle for the critical approach and landing phase of lifting body flight. It also will be available as a backup vehicle to the rocket. In the foreground a test section of the cockpit is used for canopy fitting and pressure checks. Two smaller unmanned versions of the SV-5, the SV-5D, also built by Martin Marietta, have already flown successful orbital return missions under Project PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry). PILOT and PRIME are both parts of the Air Force’s Spacecraft Technology and Advanced Reentry Test Program (START). The two projects will provide data on a single lifting body design throughout the total flight regime, orbit to landing. They are aimed at advancing the technology required to contribute to future decisions in the development of manned and unmanned reentry spacecraft.”
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SV-5P_v_bw_o_n (unnumbered, 1967 Martin Marietta Corp. news bureau photo)
“BODY BUILDING IN BALTIMORE -- LIFTING BODY, THAT IS . . . The Air Force’s first manned lifting body has moved off the production jig at Martin Marietta Corporation in Baltimore. The rocket powered wingless vehicle, called SV-5P, is being built for the U.S. Air Force’s Project PILOT (Piloted LOwspeed Test) and is scheduled to make its maiden flight late this year from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. It will be carried aloft under the wing of a B-52 to 45,000 feet, released to rocket up to 100,000 feet and then make an aircraft type landing at Edwards. SV-5P will attain a speed of Mach 2 in flight but will land at conventional jet fighter speeds. A Martin Marietta-funded jet version, SV-5J, identical except for its engines, is also being built. Although a lower performance vehicle, the jet will be capable of takeoff under its own power and will serve as a test and training vehicle for the critical approach and landing phase of lifting body flight. It also will be available as a backup vehicle to the rocket. In the foreground a test section of the cockpit is used for canopy fitting and pressure checks. Two smaller unmanned versions of the SV-5, the SV-5D, also built by Martin Marietta, have already flown successful orbital return missions under Project PRIME (Precision Recovery Including Maneuvering Entry). PILOT and PRIME are both parts of the Air Force’s Spacecraft Technology and Advanced Reentry Test Program (START). The two projects will provide data on a single lifting body design throughout the total flight regime, orbit to landing. They are aimed at advancing the technology required to contribute to future decisions in the development of manned and unmanned reentry spacecraft.”
THANK YOU! Now THAT’S a caption worth reading!
Since everybody's wondering:
www.adspast.com/store/product_image.php?imageid=34434
Credit: AdsPast.com website