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Edwards AFB-NASA/DOD/weapons tests, flight tests, missile defense August 27, 2003 This
is part of the Southwest Range Complex profiling series.
I would like to pay tribute to the wonderful High
Desert Catholic Worker, Toni Flynn in charge, and the
High Desert Green Party who have done a wonderful
job
in prayer and vigilent watchdogging this base. I know
that your Keep Space for Peace Week event will be
just
as beautiful as in past times. ALERT:
http://www.edwards.af.mil/oh_2003 where EAFB will display
war aircraft and weapons Oct 25 weekend. Edwards AFB
is situated in Kern, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties, approximately
100 miles north of the city of Los Angeles. The base consists of approximately
301,000 acres of largely undeveloped or
semi-improved
land that is used predominantly for aircraft
test ranges and maintained and unmaintained
landing sites (i.e., dry lake beds). First the ugly
chemical oxygen iodine laser EDWARDS AFB
-- The storied home of transformational developments
in modern air warfare gained yet another revolutionary
tenant Thursday with the arrival of the YAL-1A,
the Airborne Laser.
"This machine
will change the face of warfare," said Gen.
Doug Pearson, commander of the Air Force Flight Test
Center at Edwards Air Force Base. "We can do things
literally at the speed of light."
The Airborne
Laser is a weapons system under development
that uses a high-energy laser to destroy a ballistic
missile while it is still in the boost phase,
shortly after launch.
The laser
and its various targeting systems will be mounted
aboard the modified Boeing 747 freighter, dubbed
the YAL-1A.
"This airplane
is going to be a big deal sometime in the
future," said Lt. Col. Keesey Miller, director of the
ABL Integrated Test Force. "She's big, she's beautiful,
she looks great."
The ABL system, the nation's first directed-energy weapons system, will "transform the future of warfare," he said. Edwards AFB: The Mission The Air
Force Flight Test Center is tasked to support the
Air Force Materiel Command mission by conducting and
supporting research, development, test and evaluation
of both manned and unmanned aerospace systems.
This mission involves not only all aspects of testing aerospace systems, but includes the flight evaluation and recovery of research vehicles, development testing of aerodynamic decelerators, and the operation of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Edwards Flight Test Range To support
this testing, the Flight Test Center operates
and manages the Edwards Flight Test Range. The
Center also operates a fleet of test bed aircraft for
early development and checkout of new avionics and Advanced
Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA)
worldwide, in support of space and missile tests. Mobile
Range
The
Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) travel
the globe and serve as airborne tracking and telemetry
data-recording and relay stations.
They fly over land where ground tracking stations are limited by geographical constraints and over broad ocean areas where tracking stations do not exist. The unit supports a variety of national and international customers, both military and commercial, including NASA and Department of Defense missions supporting unmanned space launches, cruise missile tests, Army, Navy and Air Force ballistic missile tests and space shuttle launches. Weapons systems testing However, the majority of the workload consists of testing total weapon systems, including all major subsystems...This includes both complete new weapons system testing, as with the B-2, C-17 and F-22. In addition, this extends to major modifications to existing systems, such as the F-16 Block 50 upgrade, and subsystem upgrades, for example, improving the B-1 battery system. Toxics?
Yup! Q: What is trichloroethene, or TCE? Is it a threat to base workers and residents? What are some health effects? A: Trichloroethene (TCE) is one of the major chemical contaminants found in groundwater - and to some extent, in soil - at Edwards Air Force Base, along with tetrachloroethene (PCE), jet fuel and diesel. http://www.gmasw.com/ao_bases.htm Life in the Times Bases
Known To Be Contaminated (ca. 1992) The
following 59 U.S. military bases were suffering from
significant water or soil contamination a year ago,
according to the Department of Defense's interpretation
of its latest hazardous waste survey. Edwards' Partners Air
Force Plant 42 NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Air
Force Research Laboratory National Imagery and Mapping
Agency
Air
Education and Training Command, Detachment 1 Space Surveillance
Air
Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Detachment
5 31st Test and Evaluation
Marine
Corps Reserve Helicopter Squadrons
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