NASA’s F-15D research aircraft is positioned behind the X-59 during electromagnetic compatibility testing at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. During this test, the F-15D’s radar and avionics were turned on one at a time while engineers evaluated each signal’s interaction with the X-59 for possible interference. NASA’s Quesst mission will demonstrate quiet supersonic technology that will provide data to help determine an acceptable sound limit in the sky.

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.

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.

NASA Armstrong’s ER-2 aircraft deploys for its ALOFT mission.  The ER-2 will fly at high altitudes above the Floridian coastline to collect data about the energetic characteristics and behavior of lightning and thunderclouds.  A NASA pilot will operate the aircraft while scientists from the University of Bergen, Norway will interpret the data from the ground.

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. 

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.

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.

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

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 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.

Pilot Mark Stucky in Eclipse Simulator

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 Pegasus rocket that powered NASA's X-43A scramjet to almost Mach 10 test conditions leaves a bright arc in the Pacific sky during the boost phase.

All six divots of thermal insulation foam have been ejected from the flight test fixture on NASA's F-15B testbed as it returns from a LIFT experiment flight.

Peter Zorba Portrait, Director of Santa Susana Field Laboratory

Rocky Garcia and Wesley James prepare a weather balloon to collect wind data 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The flight operations crew for NASA’s QSF18 flight series debriefs following a flight with the F/A-18 research aircraft. The flight included a quiet supersonic dive maneuver at high altitudes off the coast to produce a sonic boom out over the ocean, with the intention of producing quieter “thumps” on land.

The F-15 Advanced Controls Technology for Integrated Vehicles, the first pre-production F-15B, shows its canards. Less obvious are the multi-axis thrust vectoring exhaust nozzles.

This view from a NASA Dryden F-18 chase aircraft shows Dryden's highly modified F-15B, tail number 837, which resumed Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) project flights on Dec. 6, 2002.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center DC-8 taking off from Building 703 in Palmdale, CA for the Student Airborne Research Program flights on December 7, 2021.

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.

Robert Lightfoot, acting NASA administrator and Thomas Zurbuchen NASA AA for the science mission directorate view a partial eclipse solar eclipse Monday, August 21, 2017, from onboard a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Gulfstream III 35,000 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. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Thomas)

Sam Choi and Naiara Pinto observe Google Earth overlaid with in almost real time what the synthetic aperture radar is mapping from the C-20A aircraft. Researchers were in the sky and on the ground to take measurements of plant mass, distribution of trees, shrubs and ground cover and the diversity of plants and how much carbon is absorbed by them.

NASA’s ER-2 No. 806 returns to flying high-altitude on April 7, 2022, after three years of heavy maintenance. NASA Armstrong operates two ER-2 aircraft to collect information about Earth resources, celestial observations, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes.

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.

Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser was released from a helicopter for a landing on an Edwards Air Force Base runway after it was lifted from the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, for its successful approach and landing flight test on Nov. 11, 2017.

F-18 Systems Research Aircraft (SRA) in flight

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 Dryden aerospace engineer Michael Allen hand-launches a model motorized sailplane during a study validating the use of heat thermals to extend flight time.

A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 from onboard a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Gulfstream III 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. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Thomas)

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.

The AeroVironment Helios high-altitude, solar-powered aircraft flies in Kauai, Hawaii. Helios reached 96,300 feet altitude, the record for sustained, level flight for a winged 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.

NASA research pilot Jim Less wears a U.S. Navy harness configuration with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California prototype mask, which uses laser sensors to determine levels of carbon dioxide and water exhaled inside the mask. This prototype was tested in conjunction with the current VigilOX system, which measures the pilot’s oxygen concentration, breathing pressures and flow rates. This and the U.S. Air Force configuration was used in the Pilot Breathing Assessment program at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

echnicians lift SOFIA's primary mirror assembly above NASA's 747SP airborne astronomy aircraft just prior to installation in the telescope cavity.

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 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.

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.

Technicians attach the tail cone, which helps reduce aerodynamic drag and turbulence during its ferry flight, to the Space Shuttle Discovery 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. 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, August 9, 2005, 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 Pathfinder research aircraft's solar cell arrays are prominently displayed as it touches down on the bed of Rogers Dry Lake at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, following a test flight. The solar arrays covered more than 75 percent of Pathfinder's upper wing surface, and provided electricity to power its six electric motors, flight controls, communications links and a host of scientific sensors.

Since the 1940s the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, has developed a unique and highly specialized capability for conducting flight research programs. The organization, made up of pilots, scientists, engineers, technicians, and mechanics, has been and will continue to be leaders in the field of advanced aeronautics. Located on the northwest "shore" of Rogers Dry Lake, the complex was built around the original administrative-hangar building constructed in 1954. Since then many additional support and operational facilities have been built including a number of unique test facilities such as the Thermalstructures Research Facility, Flow Visualization Facility, and the Integrated Test Facility. One of the most prominent structures is the space shuttle program's Mate-Demate Device and hangar in Area A to the north of the main complex. On the lakebed surface is a Compass Rose that gives pilots an instant compass heading. The Dryden complex originated at Edwards Air Force Base in support of the X-1 supersonic flight program. As other high-speed aircraft entered research programs, the facility became permanent and grew from a staff of five engineers in 1947 to a population in 2006 of nearly 1100 full-time government and contractor employees.

NASA Dryden flight test engineer Marta Bohn-Meyer is suited up for a research flight in the F-16XL laminar-flow control experiment in this 1993 photo.

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.

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 latest version of the X-38, V-131R, touches down on Rogers Dry Lake adjacent to NASAÕs Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, California, at the end of its first free flight under a giant parafoil on Nov. 2, 2000. The X-38 prototypes are intended to perfect technology for a planned Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) ÒlifeboatÓ to carry a crew to safety in the event of an emergency on the International Space Station. Free-flight tests of X-38 V-131R are evaluating upgraded avionics and control systems and the aerodynamics of the modified upper body, which is more representative of the final design of the CRV than the two earlier X-38 test craft, including a simulated hatch atop the body. The huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil will enable the CRV to land in the length of a football field after returning from space. The first three X-38Õs are air-launched from NASAÕs venerable NB-52B mother ship, while the last version, V-201, will be carried into space by a Space Shuttle and make a fully autonomous re-entry and landing.

STS-126 pilot Eric Boe inspects the liquid oxygen line connection on the belly of Space Shuttle Endeavour following landing at Edwards Air Force Base Sunday.

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 Armstrong Flight Research Center ER-2 pilot Gary Toroni and engineering technician Raul "Corky" Cortes preparing for Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) science flights in Palmdale, CA on June 17, 2021.

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

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.

NASA pilot Jim Less is assisted by life support as he is fitted with a Cobham designed VigiLOX pilot oxygen monitoring system. VigiLOX is a sensing system that is attached to a pilot's existing gear to capture real-time physiological, breathing gas and cockpit environmental data.

DC-8 lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif.

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.

CPAS Qual-CQT-4-5

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.

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.

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 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 technicians position the aerodynamic tailcone around the engine nozzles of the Space Shuttle Endeavour Dec. 7 in preparation for its ferry flight from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base back to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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.

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.

Ikhana flies a UAS Integration in the NAS mission

NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory lifts off the runway at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., on its first flight in the ARCTAS atmospheric science mission.

NASA Dryden's Automated Aerial Refueling (AAR) project evaluated the capability of an F/A-18A aircraft as an in-flight refueling tanker with the objective of developing analytical models for an automated aerial refueling system for unmanned air vehicles. The F/A-18 "tanker" aircraft (No. 847) underwent flight test envelope expansion with an aerodynamic pod containing air-refueling equipment carried beneath the fuselage. The second aircraft flew as the receiver aircraft during the study to assess the free-stream hose and drogue dynamics on the F/A-18A.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's modified U.S. Navy F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) aircraft flies over the company's Palmdale, California facilities on Aug. 2, 2003. NASA Dryden provided range, air and ground data-gathering support for the SSBD project, which is part of DARPA's Quiet Supersonic Platform (QSP) program.

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

Boeing Phantom Works' subscale Blended Wing Body technology demonstration aircraft began its initial flight tests from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. in the summer of 2007. The 8.5 percent dynamically scaled unmanned aircraft, designated the X-48B by the Air Force, is designed to mimic the aerodynamic characteristics of a full-scale large cargo transport aircraft with the same blended wing body shape. The initial flight tests focused on evaluation of the X-48B's low-speed flight characteristics and handling qualities. About 25 flights were planned to gather data in these low-speed flight regimes. Based on the results of the initial flight test series, a second set of flight tests was planned to test the aircraft's low-noise and handling characteristics at transonic speeds.

Justin Link positions the Alta-X aircraft for a hover to capture data 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.

NASA Armstrong videographer Lori Losey undergoes pressure breathing training in San Antonio, Texas. NASA Armstrong aircrews are preparing for high altitude flight tests of the X-59.

NASA Pilot Nils Larson wears a U.S. Navy harness configuration to show the integrated parachute harness and the built-in survival vest. The Navy configuration is bulkier and weighs more than the U.S. Air Force harness. Both configurations are being used in the Pilot Breathing Assessment program at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

California's NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center photographer Carla Thomas takes photos on January 31 of the rare opportunity to capture a supermoon, a blue moon and a lunar eclipse at the same time. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit and appearing 14 percent brighter than usual. As the second full moon of the month, this moon is also commonly known as a blue moon, though it will not be blue in appearance. The super blue moon passed through Earth's shadow and took on a reddish tint, known as a blood moon. This total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and a full moon form a near-perfect lineup in space. The Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

The NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft supported 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. 

NASA deployed two F/A-18 research aircraft from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to fly the Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 campaign, or QSF18. Having more than one aircraft allows pilots to conduct quick turnarounds with different aircrews between flights, fitting in as many targeted research flights as necessary.

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 deployed two F/A-18 research aircraft from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California to fly the Quiet Supersonic Flights 2018 campaign, or QSF18. Having more than one aircraft allows pilots to conduct quick turnarounds with different aircrews between flights, fitting in as many targeted research flights as necessary.

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 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 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 seventh free flight of an X-38 prototype for an emergency space station crew return vehicle culminated in a graceful glide to landing under the world's largest parafoil. The mission began when the X-38 was released from NASA's B-52 mother ship over Edwards Air Force Base, California, where NASA Dryden Flight Research Center is located. The July 10, 2001 flight helped researchers evaluate software and deployment of the X-38's drogue parachute and subsequent parafoil. NASA intends to create a space-worthy Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) to be docked to the International Space Station as a "lifeboat" to enable a full seven-person station crew to evacuate in an emergency.

California's NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center photographer Carla Thomas takes photos on January 31 of the rare opportunity to capture a supermoon, a blue moon and a lunar eclipse at the same time. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit and appearing 14 percent brighter than usual. As the second full moon of the month, this moon is also commonly known as a blue moon, though it will not be blue in appearance. The super blue moon passed through Earth's shadow and took on a reddish tint, known as a blood moon. This total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and a full moon form a near-perfect lineup in space. The Moon passes directly behind the Earth into its umbra (shadow).

This is one of two lidar units positioned on either end of Building 4833 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, that formed the cutting-edge ‘virtual tower concept.’ The units use lasers to measure airflow from the ground level 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. It was part of the multi-faceted Advanced Exploration of Reliable Operation at Low Altitudes: Meteorology, Simulation and Technology campaign.

Altus I aircraft on lakebed

DC-8 lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., at sunset.

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.

A technician guides SOFIA's primary mirror assembly into the aircraft's telescope cavity completing the mirror reinstallation following its initial coating.

Lit by the rays of the morning sunrise on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, technicians prepares the remotely-piloted X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft for its first flight on May 17, 1997.

In a series of baseline flights beginning on June 24, 2024, the G-IV aircraft flew over the Antelope Valley to analyze aircraft performance. To accommodate a new radar instrument developed by JPL, NASA’s Airborne Science Program has selected the Gulfstream-IV aircraft to be modified and operated by Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and will accommodate new instrumentation on board in support of the agency’s science mission directorate. Baseline flights began at NASA Armstrong in June 2024

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.

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.

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.