English subtitles for clip: File:NASA 60th- The Leading Edge of Flight.ogv

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(rapid electronic music)

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(swagger rock)

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- The design concept reduces
the drag at transonic speeds,

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allows the airplane to
fly faster and farther.

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- We've actually done aeronautics research

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for over 100 years; so,
NASA's predecessor was

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the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics.

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The NACA field laboratories
became part of NASA,

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and we continue that tradition.

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- They developed a lot of the theories

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with the people they had back then;

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they developed wind tunnels.

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We ran the wind tunnels
actually three shifts a day

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because there was that much demand

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for the data from the companies,

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and that who we were doing it for.

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We had lady computers who
reduced the data for us.

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(auxiliary engine roaring)

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- [Control] Ready to launch, now.

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(main engines blast)

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- The X-15 was in many ways
the ultimate research tool.

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The very first aircraft to fly into space

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and come back and land
horizontally on a runway.

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- We had to make the engine run

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in order to make the plane fly.

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It had to be dropped from altitude;

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it had to be started at altitude;

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and it had to have stable combustion.

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And we made it work.

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- It was very much an experimental,

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one of a kind laboratory in the sky

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to investigate the next great
hurdle, which was hypersonics.

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And that's a problem we're
still working on today.

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- So we've always been trying
to go farther, faster, higher;

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that's what mankind has
always wanted to do,

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to explore.

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That's what NASA does; we explore.

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And now NASA is looking at a new X-plane

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so that we can make it a little bit easier

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to get across the country,
about twice as fast.

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- And the innovation there is actually

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the shape of the aircraft, so that we can

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enable supersonic flight over land,

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and that'll open up a whole new industry.

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- Here we are, looking at how do we take

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all of those things that
we've learned historically,

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and place them in an aircraft

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that can actually fly faster
than the speed of sound

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without creating the sonic boom.

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(sonic boom)

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And if we can accomplish that objective,

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then people all across the United States

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and in fact all across the world

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will be able to fly faster
than the speed of sound

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and in fact they could fly
multiple times the speed of sound

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without disrupting
communities on the ground.

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We want to be at the very
leading edge of technology

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when it comes to supersonic flight.

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- When you look out that window
and you see that winglet,

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that was developed originally by NASA.

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There's so many things that NASA has done

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that we're with you when you fly.

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- The computers used on the Space Shuttle,

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the prototype of those computers

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were actually flown on the F-8
Digital Fly-By-Wire airplane.

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- 80% of the world's
commercial airliner fleet today

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use that same technology in
order to fly their aircraft.

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And almost all the military
aircraft that are made today.

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- I remember the first time
I was flying an F-18 Hornet.

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I was in a bit of turbulence,

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and I thought I was holding
the airplane steady,

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and my flight controls were moving.

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Well those technologies
and those capabilities

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were developed by NASA.

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- Electric propulsion really
just opens up the playing field

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for what you can do with airplanes.

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Could be an air-taxi type vehicle

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or two or three, four people will travel

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across a downtown area and be
able to get to a destination

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much quicker than being
stuck on the freeway.

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And so it's going to create
all new types of designs

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for vertical lift transitioning
to forward flight,

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and the predictions are that we'll be

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three times more efficient.

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- Unmanned aircraft systems
follows in a long line

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of technologies that
NASA always is pursuing

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to improve the quality of
life for your everyday person.

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Like, they examine bridges or buildings

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that perhaps were
damaged in an earthquake,

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find out where the damage is.

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You could do that by never having

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to actually go into the
building or walk on the bridge,

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so that makes it safer for people.

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(pilot speaks on radio)

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- For 60 years we've been exploring.

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We stand on the shoulders of
giants that came before us.

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They figured it out and we've
taken it a little bit farther.

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It's what we call pushing the envelope

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when you're a test pilot.