Appleseeds Desert Query



Appleseeds

Attn: Susan Buckley

susanbuckleynyc@

Dear Ms. Buckley,

California quail crow chi-ca-go. Joshua trees stretch bottlebrush branches toward the sky. California poppies snap closed when wind whips by. A loud, boom-boom rings out as the Space Shuttle touches down. And the F-22, the Air Force’s, latest stealth fighter jet, races through blue skies. Welcome to “Aerospace Valley” in California’s Mojave Desert.

“Joshua Trees and Jet Planes” is a proposed 500-word, nonfiction article for the “You Are There … in the Desert” issue of Appleseeds (July/August 2014). Appleseeds readers will learn how the unique Mojave Desert environment became the birthplace of jet planes, Space Shuttles and even new spaceships that will take tourists to the edge of space.

I have lived and worked in “Aerospace Valley” for almost 15 years and have extensive contacts within the local aerospace industry. Planned interviews include: Dr. Christian Gelzer, NASA Dryden History Office; David N. Larson, NASA Dryden Chief Test Pilot; and Benjamin Diachun, Scaled Composites Vice President of Engineering.

I am also attaching a few sample images that could be used with this story. These images are available for free with proper photo credit.

I spent six years as a public relations professional for NASA, including work on the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs. Now, I write leveled, science articles for BirdBrain Science, a web-based science and literacy curriculum. I have two nonfiction articles forthcoming in Boys’ Quest (December 2013 and February 2014). I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

I’ve included one Boys’ Quest article, “Mars’s Rolling Robot” along with my bibliography and sample images. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Best,

Kirsten W. Larson

PROPOSAL: California quail crow chi-ca-go. Joshua trees stretch bottle-brush branches toward the sky. California poppies stretch open and snap closed when wind whips by. A loud, boom-boom rings out as the Space Shuttle touches down. And the F-22, the Air Force’s, latest stealth fighter jet races through blue skies. Welcome to the “Aerospace Valley” in California’s Mojave Desert.

1. The Mojave Desert is perfect for testing new airplanes and spacecraft

a. Little rain means blue skies almost every day of the year and the ability for pilots to see 50-100 miles in any direction

b. Dry lakebeds form “natural runways” that are smooth, hard as concrete, and perfect places for emergency landings

c. For years, Mojave Desert communities were tiny places. In 1950, just 4,000 people lived in Lancaster, making the area a good location for “top secret” projects and noisy jet engines.

2. Breaking the sound barrier

a. Problems with airplanes as they flew faster and faster and closer to the speed of sound: for example, loss of control and turbulence. Some broke up.

b. Only way to gather information was to perform a flight test.

c. X-1 shaped like a bullet and powered by a rocket engine.

d. Dropped from B-29 Superfortress, then engine ignited.

e. 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the skies over the Mojave Desert

f. Oct. 14, 1947, Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager flew the rocket powered X-1 to Mach 1.06 at 43,000 feet, breaking the sound barrier.

g. This pave the way for modern jets.

3. Space Shuttle

a. Tested 747/shuttle combo

b. Glide test to ensure safe landing

c. Enterprise – special escape system installed parachutes p 134-135 Wallace

4. Future: Scaled/F-22

3) F-22, JSF, Scaled

Bibliography

"Air Force Test Center." Edwards Air Force Base. US Air Force, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Diachun, Benjamin. Personal Interview. Planned, not yet conducted.

Gelzer, Christian Dr. Telephone Interview. Planned, not yet conducted.

Hallion, Richard. On the Frontier: Flight Research at Dryden, 1946-1981. NASA SP-4303 ed. Washington, D.C.: NASA History Office, 1984. Print.

Hansen, James R. Engineer in Charge: A History of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958. Washington, DC: NASA, 1987. Print. SP-4305.

Hansen, James R. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. Print.

Hoover, R. A., and Mark Shaw. Forever Flying: Fifty Years of High-flying Adventures, from Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets : An Autobiography. New York: Pocket, 1996. Print.pages 113-116

Larson, David N. Personal Interview. Planned, not yet conducted.

"Lockheed-Boeing-General Dynamics YF-22." National Museum of the Air Force. US Air Force, 2 Nov. 2009. Web. 4 Apr. 2013.

Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works: The Official History. Arlington, TX: Aerofax, 1995. Print.

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Public Affairs. First Generation X-1. NASA, 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Public Affairs. Space Shuttles and the Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Scaled Composites. Spaceshipone Makes History: First Private Manned Mission to Space. Mojave: Scaled Composites, 21 June 2004. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Shultz, Barbara H. Pancho : The Biography of Florence Lowe Barnes. Lancaster: Little Buttes Pub., 1996. Print.

Wallace, Lane E. Flights of Discovery: 50 Years at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Washington, DC: NASA History Office, 1996. Print.

Yeager, Chuck, and Leo Janos. Yeager: An Autobiography. New York City: Bantam, 1985. Print.

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