Aircraft Fleet 1950s, NASA history collection
E-1152These people and this equipment supported the flight of the NACA D-558-2 Skyrocket at the High-Speed Flight Station at South Base, Edwards AFB. Note the two Sabre chase planes, the P2B-1S launch aircraft,... More
NACA Aircraft on Lakebed-X-3, D-558-1, XF4D, D-558-2
A group picture of Douglas Airplanes, taken for a photographic promotion in 1954, at what is now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The photo includes the X-3 (in ... More
At NASA Dryden, Aerospace industry representatives view actual and moc...
Aerospace industry representatives view actual and mock-up versions of 'X-Planes' intended to enhance access to space during a technical exposition on June 22, 2000 at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Ca... More
NASA X-15, Dryden history gallery
E-USAF-X-15 On 15 November 1967, Ship #3 was launched over Delamar Lake, Nevada with Maj. Michael J. Adams at the controls. The vehicle soon reached a speed of Mach 5.2, and a peak altitude of 266,000 feet. Dur... More
NASA U-2, Dryden history gallery
E-5442 After Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union during a CIA spy flight on 1 May 1960 NASA issued a press release with a cover story about a U-2 conducting weather research that may have s... More
NASA XB-70 Valkyrie, Dryden history gallery
EC68-2101 The figure standing on the ramp provides a relative size comparison with the XB-70A aircraft. Six large nozzles for the General Electric engines are shown between and below the two large vertical tail... More
B-52 Launch Aircraft in Flight. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
NASA's venerable B-52 mothership is seen here photographed from a KC-135 Tanker aircraft. The X-43 adapter is visible attached to the right wing. The B-52, used for launching experimental aircraft and for other... More
NASA M2-F2, Dryden history gallery
EC66-1567 The M2-F2 Lifting Body returns from a research flight at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, with an F-104 flying chase. The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's de... More
X-38 Ship #2 in Free Flight after Release from B-52 Mothership
The X-38 research vehicle drops away from NASA's B-52 mothership immediately after being released from the B-52's wing pylon. More than 30 years earlier, this same B-52 launched the original lifting-body vehicl... More
HL-10 Landing with F-104 Chase Aircraft
ECN-2367 HL-10 touches down on its main landing gear, while the pilot was holding the nose up to slow the vehicle. The F-104 in the background was used as a chase plane. Its pilot would give the HL-10's pilot c... More
NASA HL-10, Dryden history gallery
ECN-2353The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The liftin... More
NASA F5D-1 Skylancer, Dryden history gallery
EC71-02569F5D Skylancer in flight copy negative February 1971 NASA Photo / NASA NASA Identifier: 362787main_EC71-02569
Altus II aircraft flying over southern California desert
The San Gabriel range is visible as the the remotely piloted Altus II flies over Southern California's high desert. The Altus II was flown as a performance and propulsion testbed for future high-altitude scienc... More
A convoy of specialized support vehicles follow the Space Shuttle Ende...
A convoy of specialized support vehicles follow the Space Shuttle Endeavour as it is towed up a taxiway at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, California, after landing on May 1, 200... More
LASRE pod being mated to SR-71. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
The Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment is mounted on a NASA SR-71 aircraft Aug. 26, at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in preparation for the experiment's first flight, which took pl... More
The X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booste...
The first of three X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket recently underwent combined systems testing while mounted to NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft at the Dryden Flight Res... More
LSRA in flight, NASA history collection
A NASA CV-990, modified as a Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA), in flight over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, for a test of the space shuttle landing gear system. The space sh... More
Pathfinder aircraft taking off - setting new solar powered altitude re...
The Pathfinder solar-powered remotely piloted aircraft climbs to a record-setting altitude of 50,567 feet during a flight Sept. 11, 1995, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The flight... More
Pegasus Rocket Wing and PHYSX Glove Being Prepared for Stress Loads Te...
A technician adjusts the Pegasus Hypersonic Experiment (PHYSX) Project's Pegasus rocket wing with attached PHYSX glove before a loads-test at Scaled Composites, Inc., in Mojave, California, in January 1997. For... More
Hyper-X Vehicle Model - Top Rear View
This aft-quarter model view of NASA's X-43A "Hyper-X" or Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle shows its sleek, geometric design. The X-43A was developed to flight test a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system a... More
Enterprise - Free Flight after Separation from 747
The Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise flies free after being released from NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) during one of five free flights carried out at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, C... More
F-18 SRA during flight. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, is seen here during a recent research flight. The former Navy aircraft is being flown by ... More
F-18 HARV smoke and tuft vortex flow visualization along leading edge ...
Flow visualization smoke marks vortex flows along the leading edge extension on an F/A-18 flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in its High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) program. T... More
X-36 in Flight over Mojave Desert - Public domain map
28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement wit... More
Bob Meyer (right), acting deputy director of NASA Dryden, shakes hands...
Bob Meyer (on the right), acting deputy director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, shakes hands with Les Bordelon, executive director of Edwards Air Force Base. The handshake represe... More
Hyper-X Vehicle Model - Side View
A side-view of an early desk-top model of NASA's X-43A "Hyper-X," or Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle, which has been developed to flight test a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet propulsion system at speeds from Mach 7 ... More
X-36 Being Prepared on Lakebed for First Flight
Lit by the rays of the morning sunrise on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, a technician prepares the remotely-piloted X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Researc... More
DFRC F-16 Fleet in 1997. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
EC97-44293-1 Four different versions of the F-16 were used by Dryden in the 1990s. On the left and right sides are two F-16XLs. On the left is the F-16XL #2 (NASA 848), which is the two-seat version, used for a... More
NASA L-1011 Tristar, Dryden history gallery
EC97-44077-3 Bearing the logos of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Orbital Sciences Corporation, Orbital's L-1011 Tristar lifts off the Meadows Field Runway at Bakersfield, California, on i... More
NASA X-2, Dryden history gallery
ED06-0174-1 Bell Aircraft copy photo of X-2 Number 1 (#674) landing with skids deployedX-2 Number 1 made its first unpowered glide flight on Aug. 5, 1954, and made a total of 17 (4 glide and 13 powered) flights... More
X-3, NASA history collection. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
E-17348 This in-flight NACA High-Speed Flight Station photograph of the X-3 Stiletto illustrates the aircraft's long slender fuselage and the small wings. The X-3 Stiletto was a single-place jet-powered researc... More
NASA Unswept Fuselage Study, Dryden history gallery
ECN-2119 Aero Commander in flight - Upswept fuselage study 1965 NASA Photo NASA Identifier: 300214main_ECN-2119
Pilot Neil Armstrong in the X-15 #1 cockpit
NASA pilot Neil Armstrong is seen here in the cockpit of the X-15 ship #1 (56-6670) after a research flight. A U.S. Navy pilot in the Korean War who flew 78 combat missions in F9F-2 jet fighters and who was awa... More
HL-10 landing on lakebed with F-104 chase aircraft
In this photo, the HL-10 has touched down on its main landing gear, while the pilot was holding the nose up to slow the vehicle. The F-104 in the background was used as a chase plane. Its pilot would give the H... More
Three Lifting Bodies on Lakebed (X-24A, M2-F3, HL-10)
The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10.The lifting body ai... More
HL-10 in flight after launch. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
The HL-10 Lifting Body is seen here in powered flight shortly after launch from the B-52 mothership. When HL-10 powered flights began on October 23, 1968, the vehicle used the same basic XLR-11 rocket engine th... More
M2-F3 In-flight Launch from B-52
This photo shows the M2-F3 Lifting Body being launched from NASA's B-52 mothership at the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC--now the Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California. A fleet of lifting bodies... More
HL-10 Subsonic Control Surface Configuration
ECN-1463 HL-10 is shown on the lakebed with its subsonic control surface configuration. The unusual shapes of the lifting bodies, as well as the demands of flying a re-entry shape to comparative low-speed landi... More
HL-10 in flight over lakebed. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
The HL-10 Lifting Body is seen here in flight over Rogers Dry lakebed. Like the other lifting bodies, the HL-10 made a steep descent toward the lakebed, followed by a high-speed landing. This was due to the veh... More
NASA X-24, Dryden history gallery
ECN-2359 The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from left to right are the X-24A, M2-F3 and the HL-10. The lifti... More
F-8 DFBW in flight. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire aircraft in flight. The computer-controlled flight systems pioneered by the F-8 DFBW created a revolution in aircraft design. The F-117A, X-29, X-31, and many other aircraft have relied ... More
X-29 on Runway, NASA history collection
This photo shows the No. 2 X-29 technology demonstrator aircraft as it lifts off from the runway at Edwards Air Force base on a 1989 test flight. The X-29 was flown by NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facilit... More
STS-40 Landing at Edwards. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
Space Shuttle Columbia nears its touchdown on Runway 22 at Edwards, California, at 8:39 a.m., 14 June 1991, as the STS-40 life sciences mission comes to an end at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (la... More
SR-71B - in Flight with F-18 Chase Aircraft - View from Air Force Tank...
NASA 831, an SR-71B operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, cruises over the Mojave Desert with an F/A-18 Hornet flying safety chase. They were photographed on a 1996 mission from an... More
STS-68 on Runway with 747 SCA/Columbia Ferry Flyby
Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta C... More
X-38 on B-52 Wing Pylon - View from Observation Window
A unique, close-up view of the X-38 under the wing of NASA's B-52 mothership prior to launch of the lifting-body research vehicle. The photo was taken from the observation window of the B-52 bomber as it banked... More
X-38: Artist Concept of Re-Entering Earth's Atmosphere
This is an artist's depiction of NASA's proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) re-entering the earth's atmosphere. A team of NASA researchers began free flight tests of the X-38, a technology demonstrator for the C... More
Tu-144LL SST Flying Laboratory in Flight
pressures, angle of attack, and sideslip angles with increased accuracy. Two NASA pilots, Robert Rivers of Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, and Gordon Fullerton from Dryden Flight Research Center, Ed... More
Altus aircraft on runway, NASA history collection
The remotely piloted Altus aircraft flew several developmental test flights from Rogers Dry Lake adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., in 1996. The Altus--the word is Latin for "hig... More
Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) first flight takeoff
A NASA SR-71 takes off Oct. 31, making its first flight as part of the NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The... More
Ignition of the Pegasus rocket moments after release from the B-52 sig...
The first X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket were carried aloft by NASA's NB-52B carrier aircraft from Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on... More
LASRE pod being mated to SR-71. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
These workers are performing a fit-check of the Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) on the back of a NASA Dryden Flight Research Center SR-71. The fit-check occurred Feb. 15, 1996, at Lockheed Martin Skun... More
NASA 12/3/07, Dryden history gallery
The above-the-fuselage engine and V-tail distinguish one of NASA's two Global Hawk unmanned aircraft parked on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center. December 3, 2007 NASA Photo / Tony Landis ED07-0244-... More
STS-29 Landing Approach at Edwards
The STS-29 Space Shuttle Discovery mission approaches for a landing at NASA's then Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards AFB, California, early Saturday morning, 18 March 1989. Touchdown was at 6:35:49 ... More
Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) mission control room monitors
This photo shows monitors in a Dryden Flight Research Center mission control room of the Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR). All aspects of a research mission are monitored from one of two of these control ... More
Altus I aircraft in flight, retracting landing gear after takeoff
The landing gear of the remotely piloted Altus I aircraft retracts into the fuselage after takeoff from Rogers Dry Lake adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. The short series of test... More
DC-8 Airborne Laboratory in flight over NASA Dryden center with SCA 74...
The DC-8 aircraft is seen making a banking turn high above the NASA Dryden ramp. This view of the DC-8's left side reveals some of the modifications necessary for particular on-board experiments. To the right o... More
DARPA, U.S. Air Force, Boeing X-45A UCAV at NASA Dryden
DARPA, U.S. Air Force, Boeing X-45A UCAV (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle) at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA Identifier: NIX-EC01-0292-9
F-16XL ship #1 in flight over desert
NASA's single-seat F-16XL on a research flight over the desert near the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The aircraft was most recently used in the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project (CA... More
X-31 Loaded in C-5 Cargo Bay. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
The X-31 Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability Technology Demonstrator Aircraft, based at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, is secured inside the fuselage of an Air Force Re... More
STS-92 - Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)
One of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is bathed in the morning Sun at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. The modified jumbo jetliners are used to ferry the Spa... More
F-18 HARV instrumentation modifications
Pressure transducers are located in the tiny holes visible on the engine inlet lip of NASA's F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV). The sensors in this photo are located at the bottom of the inlet duct entran... More
F-18 SRA closeup of nose cap showing new flush air data system sensor ...
The small numbers on the nose of this F-18 aircraft at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, show the locations of 11 tiny holes which are an integral part of a new air data system installe... More
NASA X-29, Dryden history gallery
EC90-357-7This front view of the X-29 research aircraft shows the plane lit by a full moon at the edge of day on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility later redesignated the D... More
NASA SR-71 Blackbird, Dryden history gallery
EC97-44165-149 Dryden 1997 Research Aircraft Fleet on Ramp - X-31, F-15 ACTIVE, SR-71, F-106, F-16XL Ship #2, X-38, Radio Controlled Mothership and X-36 July 16, 1997 NASA Photo / Tony Landis NASA Identifier: 3... More
Aircraft Fleet 1950s, NASA history collection
E-997X-3 center, and clockwise from left: X-1A, D-558-I, XF-92A, X-5, D-558-II, and X-4. August 4,1953 NASA Photo NASA Identifier: 370420main_E-997
NASA X-1A, Dryden history gallery
E-2889A 1953 photo of some of the research aircraft at the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station now known as the the Dryden Flight Research Center. The photo shows the X-3 center and, clockwise from left: X-... More
NASA December 20, 1968, Dryden history gallery
The Flight Research Center attempted the 200th X-15 flight, but it was cancelled when a snowstorm enveloped Edwards AFB. The pilot was Major William J. ''Pete'' Knight. The X-15 never flew again. When the X-15 ... More
X-Wing Research Vehicle, NASA history collection
One of the most unusual experimental flight vehicles appearing at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later redesignated Dryden Flight Research Center) in the 1980s was the Rotor Systems Research Aircr... More
X-24B Landing, NASA history collection
The X-24B is seen here landing on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The X-24B was the last aircraft to fly in Dryden's manned lifting body program. The X-... More
NASA Firebee Drone, Dryden history gallery
EC79-11687 TF-104G #824 flies chase on NB-52B durng a DAST ARW-1 captive flight. September 14, 1979 NASA Photo / Bob Rhine DAST Project Description NASA Identifier: 305093main_EC79-11687
AD-1 cockpit and instrument panel
This is a photo of the cockpit and instrument panel of the AD-1 aircraft. Due to the small size of the AD-1, instrumentation was limited and the cockpit was cramped. The Ames-Dryden-1 (AD-1) aircraft was design... More
STS-36 on Edwards Runway with Recovery Personnel
Personnel and equipment converge on the orbiter Atlantis to begin servicing the spacecraft following its landing 4 March 1990, at NASA's then Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California. Mission e... More
SR-71 in Flight over Mountains. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
NASA 844, an SR-71A flown by NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later, Dryden Flight Research Center), Edwards, California, cruises over the Tehachapi Mountains during a 1992 flight. The aircraft is o... More
Installation of X-15 full-scale mock-up at Dryden
This photo shows workers installing the full-scale mock-up of X-15 #3 at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in September 1995. The mock-up is now on a pedestal outside the main gate at... More
Close-up of Wing Fit Check of Pylon to Carry the X-38 on B-52 Launch A...
Dryden Experimental Fabrication Shop's Andy Blua and Jeff Doughty make sure the new pylon for the X-38 fits precisely during a fit-check on NASA's B-52 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California ... More
Perseus A, Part of the ERAST Program, in Flight
The Perseus A remotely-piloted research vehicle flies low over Rogers Dry Lake on its maiden voyage Dec. 21, 1993, at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Perseus, designed and built by A... More
The Three Main Rings of the X-38 Vehicle 201 Shown under Construction ...
This photo shows the X-38 Vehicle 201, intended for spaceflight testing, under construction at NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston, Texas. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed t... More
SR-71A Taking Off with Test Fixture Mounted Atop the Aft Section of th...
speed of sound) and at altitudes of over 85,000 feet. The Lockheed Skunk Works (now Lockheed Martin) built the original SR-71 aircraft. Each aircraft is 107.4 feet long, has a wingspan of 55.6 feet, and is 18.5... More
The X-38 Second Prototype Glides to a Landing over the Lakebed at the ...
The X-38 technology demonstrator descends under its steerable parafoil toward a lakebed landing in a March 2000 test flight. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the techno... More
Perseus A High Altitude Remotely Piloted Aircraft being Towed in Fligh...
Perseus A, a remotely piloted, high-altitude research vehicle designed by Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., takes off from Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The Perseus was ... More
Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) dumps water after first in-f...
The NASA SR-71A successfully completed its first cold flow flight as part of the NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif... More
F-15B ACTIVE showing thrust vectoring nozzles in hangar
The F-15 ACTIVE (Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles) in a test bay in the Integrated Test Facility (ITF) at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, Sept. 18, 1995. A key feat... More
F-18 HARV forebody surface flow visualization at 26 degree angle of at...
A glycol-based liquid, released through very small holes around the nose of an F/A-18 flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, for its High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) program, aids... More
Proteus aircraft low-level flyby at Las Cruces Airport.
The unique Proteus aircraft served as a test bed for NASA-sponsored flight tests designed to validate collision-avoidance technologies proposed for uninhabited aircraft. The tests, flown over southern New Mexic... More
Pathfinder aircraft checkout flight, NASA history collection
The Pathfinder solar-powered research aircraft is silhouetted against a clear blue sky as it soars aloft during a checkout flight from the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in November, 1996. ... More
F-16XL ship #1 CAWAP flight - alpha 10 degrees, beta -5 degrees, altit...
The single-seat F-16XL (ship #1) makes another run during the Cranked-Arrow Wing Aerodynamic Project (CAWAP) at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The modified airplane features a delta "cranke... More
Hyper-X and Pegasus Launch Vehicle: A Three-Foot Model of the Hyperson...
The configuration of the X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Research Vehicle, or Hyper-X, attached to a Pegasus launch vehicle is displayed in this three-foot-long model at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwa... More
Aerial photo looking north over NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Aerial photo looking north over NASA Dryden Flight Research Center NASA Identifier: NIX-EC97-44165-35
NASA Altus, Dryden history gallery
EC98-44684-3 The snow-capped peak of Mt. San Antonio in the San Gabriel range is visible as the remotely piloted Altus II flies over Southern California's high desert. 29 Jun. 1998 NASA Photo / General Atomics ... More
NASA F-16XL Ship #2, Dryden history gallery
EC96-43811-1 Dryden research pilot Dana Purifoy bends NASA F-16 XL #848 away from the tanker on the 44th flight in the Supersonic Laminar Flow Control program recently. The flight test portion of the program en... More
X-40A Space Manuever Vehicle. Public domain image of NASA aircraft.
EC01-0148-15 X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of g... More
NASA Aircraft Fleet 1950s, Dryden history gallery
E-2952 This NACA High-Speed Flight Station photograph of the Century Series fighters in formation flight was taken in 1957. The F-100 lower center had originally been built as a day fighter. The later versions ... More
NASA X-1B, Dryden history gallery
E-4097 The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1B rocket-powered research aircraft, one of the growth versions of the original X-1 series, is shown in this 1957 photo on the bed of Rogers Dry Lake adjacent to the NACA ... More
NASA X-15, Dryden history gallery
EC88-0180-2 This photo shows the X-15A-2 56-6671 on a research flight with a dummy ramjet engine attached to the bottom of its wedge-shaped vertical tail. One of the experiments planned for the X-15A-2 involved... More
Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii
Pathfinder-Plus on flight over Hawaii. Pathfinder was a remotely controlled, solar-powered flying wing, designed and built as a proof-of-concept vehicle for a much larger aircraft capable of flying at extremely... More
NASA F-111 TACT, Dryden history gallery
ECN-3945 The General Dynamics TACT/F-111A Aardvark is seen In a banking-turn over the California Mojave desert. This photograph affords a good view of the supercritical wing airfoil shape.Starting in 1971 the N... More
B-727 in flight during vortex study with wingtip smoke generators
A Boeing 727 jetliner is shown in this 1974 NASA Flight Research Center photograph taking part in a wake vortex study. Smoke from "smoke generators" installed on the tips of the aircraft's wings is shown being ... More
DAST in Flight, NASA history collection
The modified BQM-34 Firebee II drone with Aeroelastic Research Wing (ARW-1), a supercritical airfoil, during a 1980 research flight. The remotely-piloted vehicle, which was air launched from NASA's NB-52B mothe... More
STS-36 Shuttle in Mate-Demate Device (MDD) Close-up
A close-up, front view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) as technicians work to prepare the orbiter for its ferry flight from NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later, the ... More