Citizens in Space, a project of the United States Rocket Academy, and Starbase Operations LLC said they have successfully completed a series of flight tests that will help advance commercial spaceflight training.
Over the past several months, Citizens in Space and Starbase Operations have developed and tested a technique to simulate the landing profile of the XCOR Lynx spacecraft using an L-39C Albatros jet trainer.
During the test flights, pilots configured aircraft controls to achieve approach angles and sink rates similar to those of a Lynx spacecraft. The test approaches were conducted at an abandoned military air field in Nevada.
During the Space Shuttle program, NASA modified a Grumman Gulfstream II business jet to fly simulated Shuttle landing profiles for astronaut training. The flight tests showed that the L-39C can perform similar training missions for the Lynx spacecraft.
The L-39 was built in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody as a military trainer for Eastern-bloc air forces.
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