The manta ray-like shape of the X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft was obvious in this underside view as it flew over Edwards Air Force Base on a test flight on Feb. 28, 2013.
The Air Force F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology aircraft flew at low levels above the Sierra Nevada Mountains to test the ACAT Fighter Risk Reduction Project to develop collision avoidance technologies for aircraft, to reduce the risk of ground collisions.
SOFIA lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., at sunset.
Dream Chaser Captive Carry Flight #1
Dream Chaser Captive Carry Flight #1
Earth and sky met as the X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft flew over Edwards Air Force Base on Feb. 28, 2013, from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. The long boom protruding from between the tails is part of the aircraft's parachute-deployment flight termination system.
An Orion parachute test enters a new phase following separation from a platform.
NASA’s Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft (front-right) is situated near NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Hangar 4802 after an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration into the National Airspace System Flight Test Series 4 flight, along with five flight “intruders.” These intruders, which include NASA’s TG-14 (front-left), T-34C (front-center), B-200 King Air (back-left), Gulfstream-III (back-center) and a Honeywell C-90 King Air (back-right), fly within a pre-determined distance to Ikhana to test Detect-and-Avoid technology during research flights.
The unique X-48B Blended Wing Body subscale demonstrator banked over desert scrub at Edwards AFB during the aircraft's fifth test flight Aug. 14, 2007.
The X-48C Hybrid Wing Body research aircraft flew over the intersection of several runways adjacent to the compass rose on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base during one of the sub-scale aircraft's final test flights on Feb. 28, 2013.
The Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft captured real-time video when the Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 mission concluded on Dec. 5, 2014. It is planned for the Ikhana to capture video again for the Orion and Space Launch System Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) certification flight.
The X-48C Hybrid Wing Body research aircraft banked right over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA during one of the sub-scale aircraft's final test flights on Feb. 28, 2013.
This high-dynamic range (HDR) photo of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) was captured just before sunset at the Christchurch International Airport in Christchurch, New Zealand while aircraft crews were preparing for a nighttime observation flight.
From left, former Desert Christian students Logan Francisco, Kyler Stephens and Jonathan Lokos and NASA Armstrong mentor Allen Parker show the elements of the experiment launched into space on Dec. 3.
A deep blue sky was a backdrop for the NASA-Boeing X-48C Hybrid Wing Body aircraft as it flew over Edwards AFB on Feb. 28, 2013, during a test flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA.
A rainbow frames the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 747SP during its first Southern Hemisphere deployment in Christchurch, New Zealand, in July 2013.
Air to air view of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy or SOFIA aircraft fly-by on a visit to Ames Research Center
X-48B blended wing body aircraft during first flight on July 20, 2007.
The U.S. Air Force's F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology, or ACAT, aircraft was used by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop and test collision avoidance technologies.
An ER-2 high-altitude Earth science aircraft banks away during a flight over the southern Sierra Nevada. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center operates two of the Lockheed-built aircraft on a wide variety of environmental science, atmospheric sampling, and satellite data verification missions.
The X-48B Blended Wing Body research aircraft banked smartly in this Block 2 flight phase image.
The NASA-Boeing X-48C Hybrid/Blended Wing Body research aircraft banked left during one of its final test flights over Edwards Air Force Base from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Feb. 28, 2013.
NASA’s F-15 research test bed will expose the Swept Wing Laminar Flow test article to speeds up to Mach 2, matching conditions presented during wind tunnel testing at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
The F-16D Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology aircraft tests of the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, or Auto-GCAS, included flights in areas of potentially hazardous terrain, including canyons and mountains.
A pedestal carried by a helicopter is positioned for a gentle placement on the ground. The helicopter removed the pedestal from the rooftop of Building 4800 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 4, 2024. The pedestal was used since the 1950s to 2015 to house different telemetry dishes to collect data from research aircraft.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft’s first flight marks the start of flight testing for NASA’s Quesst mission, the result of years of design, integration, and ground testing and begins a new chapter in NASA’s aeronautics research legacy.
One of NASA's unmanned, remotely controlled aircraft, the Perseus B, is seen here before its first flight at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.
Boeing’s MD-90 aircraft flies from Victorville California to Palmdale, California on August 15, 2023. This aircraft will be NASA’s future Sustainable Flight Demonstrator. Modifications to the aircraft will include changes to the fuselage and most notably the use of a transonic truss-braced wing.
NASA’s F/A-18 research aircraft takes off from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas for a quiet supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The F/A-18 will climb to 50,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico, where it will perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver.
Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in Calif. at 5:11 a.m. this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission.
The engine that will power NASA's quiet supersonic X-59 in flight is installed, marking a major milestone in the experimental aircraft's journey toward first flight. The installation of the F414-GE-100 engine at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility brings the vehicle close to the completion of its assembly.
NASA pilot Jim Less sits in the cockpit of a NASA F/A-18 aircraft in preparation for flight tests that will be used to understand the physiological impacts that high-performance aircraft have on pilots.
NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center ER-2 #809 high-altitude aircraft prepared for Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) science flights in Palmdale, CA on June 17, 2021
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle descends under its steerable parafoil over the California desert in its first free flight at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The flight took place March 12, 1998.
The Gulf of Mexico as seen from NASA photographer Carla Thomas at high altitude in the F/A-18 research aircraft during a flight in support of the Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 series, or QSF18. The high altitude is necessary as part of the quiet supersonic dive maneuver, climbing to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area.
NASA's historic B-52 mother ship carried the X-43A and its Pegasus booster rocket on a captive carry flight from Edwards Air Force Base Jan. 26, 2004. The X-43A and its booster remained mated to the B-52 throughout the two-hour flight, intended to check its readiness for launch. The hydrogen-fueled aircraft is autonomous and has a wingspan of approximately 5 feet, measures 12 feet long and weighs about 2,800 pounds.
SOFIA’s flight crew prepare to takeoff from the U.S. Antarctic Program facility at Christchurch International Airport in Christchurch, New Zealand, to observe the Southern Hemisphere’s skies. Pilot: Manny Antimisiaris, Co-Pilot: Jim Less, Flight Engineer: Marty Trout
While NASA's F/A-18 goes supersonic off the coast, a team of researchers monitor the flight and operate multiple sound monitor stations around Galveston and its surrounding area. This allows NASA to obtain accurate sound level data, which gets matched to community response data.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
The sun rises on the Space Shuttle Discovery as it rests on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after a safe landing August 9, 2005 to complete the STS-114 mission. Space Shuttle Discovery landed safely at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 5:11:22 a.m. PDT this morning, following the very successful 14-day STS-114 return to flight mission. During their two weeks in space, Commander Eileen Collins and her six crewmates tested out new safety procedures and delivered supplies and equipment the International Space Station. Discovery spent two weeks in space, where the crew demonstrated new methods to inspect and repair the Shuttle in orbit. The crew also delivered supplies, outfitted and performed maintenance on the International Space Station. A number of these tasks were conducted during three spacewalks. In an unprecedented event, spacewalkers were called upon to remove protruding gap fillers from the heat shield on Discovery's underbelly. In other spacewalk activities, astronauts installed an external platform onto the Station's Quest Airlock and replaced one of the orbital outpost's Control Moment Gyroscopes. Inside the Station, the STS-114 crew conducted joint operations with the Expedition 11 crew. They unloaded fresh supplies from the Shuttle and the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Before Discovery undocked, the crews filled Raffeallo with unneeded items and returned to Shuttle payload bay. Discovery launched on July 26 and spent almost 14 days on orbit.
The DC-8 Airborne Laboratory in a left banking turn above the airport at Palmdale, California. The right wing is silhouetted against the blue sky, while the left wing contrasts with the desert terrain. The former airliner is a "dash-72" model and has a range of 5,400 miles. The craft can stay airborne for 12 hours and has an operational speed range between 300 and 500 knots. The research flights are made at between 500 and 41,000 feet. The aircraft can carry up to 30,000 lbs of research/science payload equipment installed in 15 mission-definable spaces.
NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.
The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket accelerate after launch from NASA's B-52B launch aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on November 16, 2004. The mission originated from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Minutes later the X-43A separated from the Pegasus booster and accelerated to its intended speed of Mach 10.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
Space Shuttle Atlantis starts to deploy its braking parachute following touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 22, 2007.
NASA's Super Guppy Turbine cargo aircraft in the hangar at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center on August 24, 2021. This unique whale-like aircraft arrived at the center's Building 703 in Palmdale, CA to support crews in the performance of routine maintenance. The Super Guppy aircraft, operated by NASA's Johnson Space Center, aids in the transportation of oversized aerospace cargo in a practical and economical way.
The engine that will power NASA's quiet supersonic X-59 in flight is installed, marking a major milestone in the experimental aircraft's journey toward first flight. The installation of the F414-GE-100 engine at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility brings the vehicle close to the completion of its assembly.
NASA's DC-8 Airborne Science platform shown against a background of a dark blue sky on February 20, 1998. The aircraft is shown from the right rear, slightly above its plane, with the right wing in the foreground and the left wing and horizontal tail in the background. The former airliner is a "dash-72" model and has a range of 5,400 miles. The craft can stay airborne for 12 hours and has an operational speed range between 300 and 500 knots. The research flights are made at between 500 and 41,000 feet. The aircraft can carry up to 30,000 lbs of research/science payload equipment installed in 15 mission-definable spaces.
Radar operator Alexander Winteer monitors incoming wind data from the DopplerScatt radar instrument during a science flight off the California Coast on March 5, 2018.
The Helios Prototype aircraft during initial climb-out to the west over the Pacific Ocean.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft completed its first dual-flight day on Thursday, April 30, at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. This image shows the X-59 flying over the Mojave Desert during the aircraft’s second flight of the day, and its 12th overall. The X-59 flew test points at altitudes ranging from 12,000 to 43,000 feet and speeds from approximately 528 to 627 mph, or Mach 0.8 to Mach 0.95. The increased tempo of test flights allows the team to collect more data over a shorter period of time.
Scaled Composites' unique tandem-wing Proteus was the testbed for a series of UAV collision-avoidance flight demonstrations. An Amphitech 35GHz radar unit installed below Proteus' nose was the primary sensor for the Detect, See and Avoid tests.
NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.
The Moon is seen passing in front of the Sun during a total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017 from onboard a NASA Gulfstream III aircraft flying 25,000 feet above the Oregon coast. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Thomas)
NASA Armstrong’s Student Airborne Research Program celebrates 15 years of success in 2023. An eight-week summer internship program, SARP offers upper-level undergraduate students the opportunity to acquire hands-on research experience as part of a scientific campaign using NASA Airborne Science Program flying science laboratories—aircraft outfitted specifically for research projects. Students onboard NASA’s DC-8 aircraft, the largest flying science laboratory in the world, help scientists from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a science project investigating air quality and non-vehicular pollution sources called AEROMMA, which measures Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas. In 2023, NASA also introduced a sister program, SARP East to complement the West Coast program.
Red Jensen lands the Alta-X aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as part of the Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign. The campaign was at NASA Armstrong to study wind from the ground to 2,000 feet to provide data to assist future drones to safely land on rooftop hubs called vertiports and to potentially improve weather prediction.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
A NASA F/A-18 flies over the Dryden Flight Research Center and Rogers Dry Lake on December 11, 2002. The aircraft participated in the Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project. The 300-gallon aerial refueling store seen on the belly of the aircraft carries fuel and a refueling drogue. This aircraft acted as a tanker in the study to develop an aerodynamic model for future automated aerial refueling, especially of unmanned vehicles.
This photo shows one of the X-38 lifting-body research vehicles mated to NASA's B-52 mothership in flight prior to launch. The B-52 has been a workhorse for the Dryden Flight Research Center for more than 40 years, carrying numerous research vehicles aloft and conducting a variety of other research flight experiments.
An aerial image taken by one of NASA’s photographers during recent helicopter flights shows a view of the building 4833 structure and the mobile operating facility at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign uses the mobile operations facility vehicle shown in the lower right corner during test operations. The red, yellow, and white building markings applied to building 4833 are used to provide visual aids to the pilot during handling qualities testing used to research advanced air mobility flight requirements.
NASA test pilots Jim “Clue” Less and Wayne “Ringo” Ringelberg step to the F/A-18 research aircraft at Ellington Field and conduct pre-flight safety checks on the aircraft prior to a supersonic research flight for the QSF18 series.
EDWARDS, Calif. - ED09-0127-06 (EAFB) -- The crew of space shuttle mission STS-125 gather on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California after space shuttle Atlantis landed to conclude the 13-day mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. From left are Mission Specialist Mike Massimino, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson, Commander Scott Altman and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. Main gear touchdown was at 11:39:05 a.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 11:39:15 a.m. EDT. Wheel stop was at 11:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission’s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle’s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Thomas, EAFB
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. on May 31, 2007. The heavily modified Boeing 747SP was ferried to Dryden from Waco, Texas, where L-3 Communications Integrated Systems installed a German-built 2.5-meter infrared telescope and made other major modifications over the past several years. SOFIA is scheduled to undergo installation and integration of mission systems and a multi-phase flight test program at Dryden over the next three years that is expected to lead to a full operational capability to conduct astronomy missions in about 2010. During its expected 20-year lifetime, SOFIA will be capable of "Great Observatory" class astronomical science, providing astronomers with access to the visible, infrared and sub-millimeter spectrum with optimized performance in the mid-infrared to sub-millimeter range.
A helicopter carries a rooftop pedestal it removed from Building 4800 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 4, 2024. The pedestal was used since the 1950s to 2015 to house different telemetry dishes to collect data from research aircraft.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
EDWARDS, Calif. - ED09-0127-04 - A drag chute slows the speed of space shuttle Atlantis as it touches down on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, ending a journey of 5.3 million miles on the STS-125 mission to repair and upgrade NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Main gear touchdown was at 11:39:05 a.m. EDT. Nose gear touchdown was at 11:39:15 a.m. EDT. Wheel stop was at 11:40:15 a.m., bringing the mission’s elapsed time to 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds. Landing opportunities on May 22, May 23 and May 24 were waved off due to weather concerns at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the shuttle’s primary landing site. Through five spacewalks, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope was refurbished and upgraded with state-of-the-art science instruments that will expand Hubble's capabilities and extend its operational lifespan through at least 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Thomas, EAFB
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
Red Jensen looks over the Alta-X aircraft before a flight for the Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign. The weather study was at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The focus was to study wind from the ground to 2,000 feet to provide data to assist future drones to safely land on rooftop hubs called vertiports and to potentially improve weather prediction.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
NASA test pilots Jim “Clue” Less and Wayne “Ringo” Ringelberg step to the F/A-18 research aircraft at Ellington Field and conduct pre-flight safety checks on the aircraft prior to a supersonic research flight for the QSF18 series.
The Alta-X aircraft flies at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as part of the Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign. The campaign was at NASA Armstrong to study wind from the ground to 2,000 feet to provide data to assist future drones to safely land on rooftop hubs called vertiports and to potentially improve weather prediction.
While the quiet supersonic dive maneuver produces a quieter version of the sonic boom in a necessary area, it produces a loud sonic boom out over the ocean. Doing so over the busiest waterway in the country makes it necessary to provide high levels of situational awareness to vessels below, through communications between NASA public affairs officers and the U.S. Coast Guard command center.
NASA pilots, engineers, and communications specialists brief the day’s operations prior to a supersonic research flight for QSF18, taking off from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas. The flights are meant to validate NASA’s techniques and technology for gather community feedback data for X-59’s Low-Boom Flight Demonstration mission.
Part of the mission criteria that led to the decision to fly off the coast of Galveston for QSF18 was the convenience of having NASA Johnson Space Center’s facilities at Ellington Field.
Part of the mission criteria that led to the decision to fly off the coast of Galveston for QSF18 was the convenience of having NASA Johnson Space Center’s facilities at Ellington Field.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the international Sentinel-6B spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. A collaboration between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency), EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sentinel-6B is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans.
NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.
The third X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket drop away from NASA's B-52B launch aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on November 16, 2004. The mission originated from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Moments later the Pegasus booster ignited to accelerate the X-43A to its intended speed of Mach 10.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft’s first flight marks the start of flight testing for NASA’s Quesst mission and begins a new chapter in NASA’s aeronautics research legacy.
NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
The NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft was prepared to support the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Storms (IMPACTS) mission. For this mission, the IMPACTS team tracked storms across the Eastern United States to help understand how winter storms form and develop. The aircraft, which is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California, was temporarily based at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. The three-year IMPACTS campaign concluded on Feb. 28, 2023.
SOFIA at nighttime in New Zealand.
Jennifer Fowler talks to Red Jensen prior to a flight for the Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign. Tyler Willhite completes some equipment checks for the research in the background. The weather study was at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The focus was to study wind from the ground to 2,000 feet to provide data to assist future drones to safely land on rooftop hubs called vertiports and to potentially improve weather prediction.
Marta Bohn-Meyer, Chief Engineer, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
A cable is secured on a rooftop pedestal located on Building 4800 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 4, 2024. The pedestal, which was prepared for a helicopter lift to remove it from the roof, was used since the 1950s until 2015 to enable different telemetry dishes to collect data from research aircraft.
NASA mission controllers, engineers, pilots and communications specialists in the mission control room monitor the supersonic research flight off the coast of Galveston, as part of the QSF18 flight series. The flight operations crew tracks the status of the flights, maintains communications with the aircraft, communicates with U.S. Coast Guard, and coordinates community feedback data.
One of NASA's two F-15 research aircraft gets refueled in mid-air over Lake Isabella from a USAF KC-135 tanker while NASA's other F-15 flies chase alongside.
NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.
An F-16XL refuels in-flight. Only two XLs were built, and NASA eventually operated both for experimental purposes, including an active supersonic laminar flow experiment.
DC-8 lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., at sunset.
The early-morning Sun bathes the Space Shuttle Discovery in hues of purple, pink and gold as it is encased in the Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California. The gantry-like MDD structure is used to prepare the shuttle for its ferry flight back to the Kennedy space Center in Florida, including mounting the shuttle atop NASA’s modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen, AA for science mission directorate explains to Lesa Roe, acting deputy administrator, how the spectrograph showing different colors correlate to different elements, such as helium, in the Sun's atmosphere. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Thomas)
The ALOFT mission, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Fly’s eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma ray flashes, is a collaboration between NASA and the University of Bergen, Norway. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s ER-2 aircraft flies just above the height of thunderclouds over the Floridian and Caribbean coastlines to collect data about lightning glows and terrestrial gamma ray flashes. Scientists expect to collect more accurate data than ever before that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms.
The engine that will power NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 in flight is installed, marking a major milestone in the experimental aircraft’s journey toward first flight. The installation of the F414-GE-100 engine at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility brings the vehicle close to the completion of its assembly.
The X-40A immediately after release from its harness suspended from a helicopter 15,000 feet above NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on March 14, 2001. The unpiloted X-40 is a risk-reduction vehicle for the X-37, which is intended to be a reusable space vehicle. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A will undergo a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound.
Technicians attach the tail cone, which helps reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its ferry flight, to the Space Shuttle Atlantis in preparation for its return to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After the tail-cone is installed, Discovery will be mounted on NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, for the return flight.
Jennifer Fowler works on securing sensors onto the test fixture on the Alta-X aircraft. Justin Link, Grady Koch, and Tyler Willhite are in the background. The Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign was at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The focus was to study wind from the ground to 2,000 feet to provide data to assist future drones to safely land on rooftop hubs called vertiports and to potentially improve weather prediction.
Technicians introduce liquid nitrogen to an instrument linked to SOFIA’s telescope. Detection of infrared wavelengths is greatly enhanced by removing as much heat from the telescope as possible.