Project FIRE

As part of the Project Fire, technicians prepare materials to be subjected to high temperatures that will simulate the effects of re-entry heating. Photographed in the 9 X 6 Foot Thermal Structures Tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center

Project FIRE (Flight Investigation Reentry Environment) was a United States National Air and Space Administration NASA effort to determine the effects of Atmospheric entry on spacecraft materials. Project FIRE used both ground testing in wind tunnels and flight tests to test the effects of reentry heating on spacecraft materials. Wind tunnel testing occurred at the 4-foot Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, the High-Temperature Tunnel, and the Thermal Structures Tunnel at the Langley Research Center located in Hampton, Virginia. Recoverable reentry packages were flight tested using the Atlas Intercontinental ballistic missile. Project Fire flight tests originated from Launch Complex 12 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States.^[1]

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