2-860-716 - Heritage Space/Heritage Images

A model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter in the 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel, USA, ca. 1978. Testing at the Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. Note the reaction control system exhaust openings in the model's nose, an indication that this test involved the orbiter's descent from orbit. The data collected by the 5.5-foot-long model were integrated with other data and become part of computerized flight simulation programs.