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Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in southern California, located approximately northeast of Lancaster and east of Rosamond. It is the home of the Air Force Test Center and is the Air Force Materiel Command center of excellence for conducting and supporting research and development of flight, as well as testing and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to combat. It operates the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and is home to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and considerable test activities conducted by America's commercial aerospace industry. ==Overview== Previously known as Muroc Air Force Base, Edwards AFB is named in honor of Captain Glen Edwards (1918–1948). During World War II, he flew 50 missions in A-20 Havoc light attack bombers in the North African campaign on extremely hazardous, low-level missions against German tanks, convoys, troop concentrations, bridges, airfields, and a variety of other tactical targets. Edwards became a test pilot in 1943 and spent much of his time at Muroc Army Air Field, on California's high desert, testing a wide variety of experimental prototype aircraft. He died in the crash of a Northrop YB-49 flying wing near Muroc AFB on 5 June 1948.〔Ford, Daniel: Glen Edwards: The Diary of a Bomber Pilot (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998) ISBN 1-56098-571-2〕 The base is next to Rogers Dry Lake, an endorheic desert salt pan whose hard dry lake surface provides a natural extension to Edwards' runways. This large landing area, combined with excellent year-round weather, makes the base perfect for flight testing. The lake is a National Historic Landmark.〔(NHL Summary for Rogers Dry Lake )〕 The base has played a significant role in the development of virtually every aircraft to enter the Air Force inventory since World War II. Almost every United States military aircraft since the 1950s has been at least partially tested at Edwards, and it has been the site of many aviation breakthroughs. Notable occurrences at Edwards include Chuck Yeager's flight that broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, test flights of the North American X-15, the first landings of the Space Shuttle, and the 1986 around-the-world flight of the Rutan Voyager. Airplanes from Edwards AFB provided the flyovers at many outdoor sporting events in Los Angeles County, including the 1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, many World Series games at Dodger Stadium, and the missing man formation after the National Anthem at Super Bowls at the Rose Bowl in nearby Pasadena: XIV, XXI, and XXVII, sung by Cheryl Ladd, Neil Diamond, and Garth Brooks, respectively. The base's five-man color guard has accompanied presentations of the National Anthem by a who's who of recording artists at these and other major sporting events in Los Angeles County, including the 1984 Summer Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, many NBA Finals games, two Stanley Cup Finals, two National Hockey League All-Star Games, and three NBA All-Star Games, most notably accompanying Marvin Gaye's performance at the 1983 game in Inglewood, California. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edwards Air Force Base」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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