Facility improvements, return to service and novel testing techniques showcase critical ground testing

This past year, the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex maintained critical testing at its many geographically separated units. The AEDC Propulsion Wind Tunnel 16S in Tennessee demonstrated tunnel operability after a multiyear reactivation effort by testing an AGARD-B standard model in January. The supersonic wind tunnel has a 16-foot-by-16-foot (5-meter-by-5-meter) test section that operates from Mach 1.5 to Mach 4.75. NASA completed its Engineering and Safety Center and Space Launch System high Reynolds number test in the National Transonic Facility in Virginia in April after a one year delay due to the pandemic. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, demonstrated a novel approach for efficiently constructing single-structure wind tunnel models via application of additive manufacturing.