Dale Reed with model in front of M2-F1 DVIDS717045

Robert Dale Reed (February 20, 1930 - March 18, 2005) was an

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

who pioneered

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage wi ...

aircraft and remotely piloted research aircraft programs for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

at Dryden Flight Research Center.

Career

Reed, born on February 20, 1930, was an aerospace engineer who pioneered

aircraft and remotely piloted research aircraft programs at

Dryden Flight Research Center The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical rese ...

in 1953. Reed is also known for conducting aerodynamic loads research on the X-1E, X-5,

F-100 F-100 or F100 may refer to: Aerospace and defense * North American F-100 Super Sabre, a fighter aircraft formerly in the service of the United States Air Force * Fokker 100, a regional jet * Pratt & Whitney F100, afterburning turbofan engine * ' ...

, and

D-558-II The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket (or D-558-II) is a rocket and jet-powered research supersonic aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the United States Navy. On 20 November 1953, shortly before the ( 17 December) 50th anniversary of po ...

aircraft.

Later life

Reed retired in 1985, but returned as a contract aerospace engineer to work on the

X-33 The Lockheed Martin X-33 was a proposed uncrewed, sub-scale technology demonstrator suborbital spaceplane that was developed for a period in the 1990s. The X-33 was a technology demonstrator for the VentureStar orbital spaceplane, which was pla ...

X-36 The McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) X-36 ''Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft'' was an American stealthy subscale prototype jet designed to fly without the traditional empennage found on most aircraft. This configuration was designed ...

and

X-38 The X-38 was an experimental re-entry vehicle designed by NASA to research a possible emergency crew return vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station (ISS). The 1995–2002 program also developed concepts for a crew return vehicle design ...

research vehicles, two of which featured lifting body configurations. In all, Reed managed 19 projects and designed a dozen aircraft during his career. He died March 18, 2005, in San Diego.

Awards

Before his retirement from NASA in 1985, Reed won four NASA awards ranging from the

Exceptional Service Medal The Exceptional Service Medallion (formally known as the Exceptional Service Emblem) is a civilian decoration of the United States government. It is awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency in recognition of "an employee's injury or death res ...

to an Associate Fellow Award.

References

Sources

* Print * Print.
Dunbar, Brian. "Driving Forces." NASA. NASA, 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 06 June 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Robert Dale 1930 births 2005 deaths American aerospace engineers NASA people