Object Details
- Manufacturer
- North American Aircraft Company
- Summary
- The XN-2 was one of the first operational stellar-inertial systems that successfully assisted in navigating an aircraft. It combined the inertial systems of the Autonetics XN-1 (see 1963-0369, NASM 1382), with a device that acquired one or more stars during flight. The combination gave a system that could continue to operate during low-altitude or other phases of a flight, when the stars were obscured by clouds or the sun, but with much greater accuracy than all-inertial systems, since the stellar fix could correct for the inevitable drift that occurred in the inertial system's gyros. The XN-2 was built by an operation of North American Aircraft (established as the Autonetics Division in 1955), and installed on a YC-97 airplane. On April 10, 1952 it successfully assisted with the navigation of a flight.
- Credit Line
- Transferred from the United States Air Force.
- Inventory Number
- A19630370000
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- INSTRUMENTS-Navigational
- Materials
- HAZMAT: Cadmium Plating, Magnesium
- Aluminum, Steel, Stainless Steel, Paint, Acrylic (Plexiglas), Epoxy, Nylon, Plastic, Wood, Glass, Paper, Rubber (Silicone), Synthetic Fabric
- Dimensions
- 3-D: 109.2 × 96.5cm (43 × 38 in.)
- Storage (Aluminum pallet and frame with fabric dust cover): 121.9 × 121.9 × 152.4cm, 318.4kg (48 × 48 × 60 in., 702lb.)
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Air and Space Museum Collection
- National Air and Space Museum
- Record ID
- nasm_A19630370000
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9fbff53e1-8dba-4e3c-a2a6-e945dd0f6116
