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	+ ATP Home + Flight Research    Facilities Home		NASA’s Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) supports aerospace flight research and technology integration, space exploration concepts, airborne remote sensing and a wide variety of science missions.   Located at the Dryden Flight Research Center, part of the Edwards Air Force Base complex, the mission of the WATR is to support flight research operations and low earth-orbiting missions. WATR supplies a comprehensive set of resources for the control and monitoring of flight activities, real-time acquisition and reduction of research data, and effective communication of information to flight and ground crews. Precision radar provides tracking and space positioning information on research vehicles and other targets, including satellites. Fixed and mobile telemetry antennas receive real-time data and video signals from the research vehicle and relay this data to telemetry processing areas.  The processed data is displayed at the engineering stations in the mission control center and archived in a post-flight storage area. Audio communication networks support research operations in the WATR, covering a broad frequency spectrum for transmitting and receiving voice communications and flight termination signals for unmanned aerial vehicles. Video monitoring provides real-time and recorded data for the control and safety of flight test missions.   Above: Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) mission control Blue room. Image credit: NASA     NASA's ATP Program Read about one of the largest, most versatile and comprehensive set of testing facilities in the nation. + View the fact sheet (PDF) Western Aeronautical Test Range + View the fact sheet (PDF) Western Aeronautical Test Range at DFRC Visit the WATR at NASA's Dryden Research Center. + View the site   "The right facility at the right time" - NASA Aeronautics Test Program
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