NASA Invites Media to Tour VIPR, Aeronautics Research Project

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Jun 29, 2015, 03:13 ET

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA will host a behind-the-scenes tour of the Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research (VIPR) project at the agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California on Thursday, July 9.

Media interested in participating should contact Peter Merlin at 661-276-2679 or [email protected] no later than 10 a.m. on Monday, July 6. Participants should arrive at the Edwards Air Force Base West Gate Visitor Control Center by 8:30 a.m. PDT.

VIPR is preparing for a third and final round of testing with three objectives: incorporate smart sensors designed to improve flying safety and reduce costs, detect potential engine faults and evaluate advances in engine diagnostics.

A morning briefing will cover the current status and objectives of the VIPR project, followed by a tour of the test setup, which involves ground testing of a C-17 cargo transport plane and one of its engines -- a military version of a commercial engine used on the Boeing 757.

The event will give journalists an opportunity to learn more about the intricacies of testing and evaluating new engine diagnostic technologies and ask questions of investigators involved in the research process.

Since 2011, NASA has partnered with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing Research & Technology, Pratt and Whitney, General Electric Aviation and Rolls-Royce Liberty Works on the VIPR project. Researchers from four NASA centers are involved in various aspects of research and testing – Armstrong, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.

For more information about the VIPR project, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1GVktLn

For more information about NASA's aeronautics research, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

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SOURCE NASA