 |
EncyclopediaEdwards Air Force BaseEdwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. The base houses the Air Force Flight Test Center, which researches and develops aerospace weapons and rocket-propulsion systems, and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration's Flight Research Center. The base is also the proving ground for military aircraft. It has been the landing point for a number of space shuttle missions; on Sept. 5, 1983, the Challenger made the first nighttime landing of a spacecraft there. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Edwards Air Force Base from Infoplease:
- Bakersfield - Bakersfield Bakersfield, city (1990 pop. 174,820), seat of Kern co., S central Calif., at the ...
- Palmdale - Palmdale Palmdale, city (1990 pop. 68,842), Los Angeles co., S Calif., in the irrigated Antelope ...
- Experimental and Spy Planes: Bell X-1 - A plane that went faster than the speed of sound
- Buzz Aldrin - Aldrin, Buzz Aldrin, Buzz (Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), 1930–, American astronaut, b. ...
- Mojave Desert - Mojave or Mohave Desert Mojave or Mohave Desert, c.15,000 sq mi (38,850 sq km), region of low, ...
|
|
