posted 08-06-2018 12:15 PM
Much has been said about the Northrop T-38 two-seat trainer being used for proficiency training for the astronauts of the Apollo era. But the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) only started having the T-38 in early 1964. And the first T-38s MSC got were on loan from the Air Force. Does anyone know when MSC began buying T-38s directly rather than borrowing them?Secondly, prior to the T-38, the Space Task Group in Virginia from 1959 to 1961 (and the successor, MSC, from 1961 onward), had other jet aircraft on hand for the astronauts to use for proficiency training. The ones that I am aware of were —
The T-33 subsonic trainer, which MSC kept on hand even after the T-38 was brought in.
And also, the F-106 Delta Dart. The T-33s and the F-106s I believe were kept at Langley Field in Virginia and again, were on loan from the Air Force.
There was also an unusual two-seat trainer which I can't recall the name of that the astronauts used but may be used only once. And the seating configuration of the two seats was side by side like a commercial jet. This would have been around 1960. I don't believe it was one of the regular aircraft kept on hand for the astronauts. And it is not clear to me if this aircraft was kept at Langley Field.
Starting in 1964, jets for the astronauts were kept at Ellington Air Base in Texas. And the aircraft on hand were the T-33, the T-38 and perhaps some F-106s.
Does anyone know of any other jets that were made available for the astronauts at Ellington?
I have also seen where there astronauts were using F-106s located at Edwards. These belonged either to the Air Force or to NASA's Flight Research Center (later named Dryden, now Armstrong) but not to MSC.
But I think there were some F-106s on loan to MSC which were kept at Ellington as well.
Also at Ellington in the 1960s, there were other NASA aircraft that were kept there but they had other purposes and were not part of astronaut training.
So again, other than the F-106, the T-33 and the T-38, were there any other aircraft that were regularly made available to the astronauts first at Langley (from 1959 to 1963) and then at Ellington (from 1964 to 1972)?
posted 08-06-2018 12:15 PM
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