Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASAs first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57’s functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57’s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

The Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign project conducted connectivity and infrastructure flight tests with a NASA TG-14 glider aircraft at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2020. The flights were preparation for the NC Integrated Dry Run Test in December and allowed pilots to view the routes they will fly during the helicopter test.

Claudia Sales, NASA’s acting X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the quiet supersonic research aircraft, supports ground testing for Acoustic Research Measurements (ARM) flights. The test campaign to evaluate technologies that reduce aircraft noise was conducted at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in 2018.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

SOFIA Returns to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 Caption: SOFIA returns to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center building 703 in Palmdale, California on March 16, 2021 after spending six months in Germany conducting science observations.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57's functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57's goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

NASA Administrator Bridenstine, former navy pilot, sits comfortably back in F-18 jet cockpit at Armstrong Flight Research Center.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

A Bell OH-58C Kiowa helicopter provided by Flight Research Inc. in Mojave, California, sits on a helipad at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California the first week of December 2020. The Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign project used the helicopter as a surrogate urban air mobility vehicle to develop and implement infrastructure, including the markings seen in the image, to support safe operations of these vehicles.  

Dana Purifoy, NASA Armstrong director of Flight Operations, talking, and John McKay, former Armstrong SR-71 crew chief, participate on a panel discussion about the triple supersonic aircraft.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57’s functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57’s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57's functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57's goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Apollo Astronaut Fred Haise speaks to a crowd of NASA and U.S Air Force employees at the Edwards Air Force Base theater about his career with NASA and as a military pilot. Haise stands on stage with a photo of former astronauts Jim Lovell and Jack Swigert who accompanied him on the Apollo 13 lunar mission in the background with a model of the Saturn V rocket.

NASA’s Ikhana aircraft, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, flew for 2.5 hours on June 12 in the national airspace without a safety chase aircraft.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center staff members monitor a test of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser was lifted by helicopter from the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, before its successful approach and landing flight test on Nov. 11, 2017.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center staff members monitor a test of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

The first of three “new” F/A-18B Hornets arrived at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California Nov. 6.

A ground crewman at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, CA inspects the forward panel on the mid-body section of NASA’s ER2’s wingpod. The crew is preparing to fly the air-LUSI instrument aboard the ER2 to measure the Moon.

Derek Abramson and Robert Jensen assemble pieces of the Hybrid Quadrotor 90C (HQ-90) at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Lab in California on Oct. 1, 2020. This vertical lift and transition remotely piloted aircraft arrived in pieces packed in crates. It was reassembled for the Resilient Autonomy project to test software in flight.  

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

In Armstrong auditorium, Bridenstine discusses the future of NASA under his administration then answered questions from employees

Wesley Li, Kirsten Boogaard and test conductor Eric Miller observe testing of the X-57 distributed electric aircraft wing at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Tests increased confidence in the wing's durability and calibrated installed strain gauges for inflight load monitoring of the wing.

Bridenstine tours main Armstrong hangar that houses the center aircraft used for flight research and safety chase such as F/A-18, F-15B/D, King Air B-200, T-34C and TG-14 aircraft.

Kendrick Morales, left, and Alexander Passofaro, right, work together to transition the software for the Aeronautics AR app from being target image dependent to deleting the target image.

This broad view of the Flight Loads Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California shows the test set up for the high-aspect ratio Passive Aeroelastic Tailored wing.

A new bio-based synthetic engine oil is added to one of the vehicles that Armstrong is using to assist in performance testing of the new product.

A Bell OH-58C Kiowa helicopter provided by Flight Research Inc. in Mojave, California, flies at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California the first week of December 2020. The Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign project used the helicopter as a surrogate urban air mobility vehicle to develop a data baseline for future flight testing.  

Administrator Bridenstine hears about the progress to modify the Tecnam P2006T from a combustion aircraft to an all-electric aircraft. Armstrong's X-57 team and ESAero, the prime contractor for the plane, are doing the briefing. The final configuration model of X-57 stands in front of group.

Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser posed on ramp at sunrise at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California where the aircraft has gone through a series of tests in preparation for flight.

The TigerShark unmanned aircraft by Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation flew over the skies at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

Vertiports and helipads were painted Oct. 6-14, 2020 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center to support future flight testing for the Advanced Air Mobility project’s National Campaign. 

The TigerShark unmanned aircraft by Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation flew over the skies at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

The Passive Aeroelastic Tailored wing is tested in a fixture at the NASA Armstrong Flight Test Center’s Flight Loads Laboratory in California.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

NASA Administrator Bridenstine learns about the many uses for mission control rooms for flight research projects such as monitoring the flights for safety, gathering data and talking to the pilot and project researcher.

Engineers monitor data during vibration testing of a cruise motor controller for the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane. Attached to a table at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center's environmental lab, the cruise motor controller is exposed to specific levels of vibration, allowing NASA to examine the structural integrity of the hardware. Engineers, meanwhile, monitored data, including waveforms of electrical current, and recorded readings.

The load pad bonding process for the vertical tails was a preliminary step in the process to test the F/A-18E from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, Maryland. The aircraft is in NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Flight Loads Laboratory in Edwards, California, for the center’s biggest load calibrations tests. This testing is needed before the aircraft can serve as a test vehicle for determining if it can safely manage maneuvers and proposed upgrades.

Steven Grantham (NIST) and John Woodward (NIST) contemplate cable management for air-LUSI’s Irradiance Instrument Subsystem telescope at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, CA.  It is critical that the delicate fiber optic cables move smoothly with the telescope.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser spacecraft arrives by truck at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, located on Edwards Air Force Base. The spacecraft will undergo several months of testing in preparation for its approach and landing flight on the base’s 22L runway. The test series is part of a developmental space act agreement SNC has with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will help SNC validate aerodynamic properties, flight software and control system performance. The Dream Chaser is also being prepared to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract beginning in 2019. The cargo Dream Chaser will fly at least six delivery missions to and from the space station by 2024.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Scott Howe, X-56A chief pilot, and Dana Purifoy, co-pilot, complete preflight checks from a ground cockpit in the control room.

NASA Administrator Bridenstine stands with AFRC center director McBride by model NASA's Supersonic X-Plane, X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology or QueSST. Bridenstine spoke at press event at Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The goal of X-59 is to quiet the sound when aircraft pierce the speed of sound and make a loud sonic boom on the ground.

Wally Hargis, left, and Ted Powers complete preparations for testing the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored wing.

After successfully landing on an Edwards Air Force Base runway on Nov. 11, 2017, Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser was prepared for its tow back to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

The X-57 fuselage is positioned under the Mod II wing section so that it can be reattached. The components were separated for transport to NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Reintegration began shortly after the aircraft arrived. The X-57 is intended to help develop certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

From left Eric Becker watches as Nathan Sam, Robert 'Red' Jensen and Justin Hall attach a Prandtl-M aircraft onto the Carbon Cub aircraft that air launched it at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The aircraft is the second of three prototypes of varying sizes to provide scientists with options to fly sensors in the Martian atmosphere to collect weather and landing site information for future human exploration of Mars.

NASA engineers put the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, through its initial telemetry tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, testing the aircraft’s ability to transmit data to teams on the ground. The data is packaged and transmitted down to ground assets, where it’s decoded into a format that can be presented to a flight control team to look at screens in real time for flight operations. X-57’s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Lt. Cmdr. Mike Shelton delivers a F/A/-18B Hornet to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Shelton, center, was met by Armstrong’s Tom Grindle, from left, Ted Williams, Gary Gano and Brian Fox.

PTERA takes off on a flight to test the ability of shape memory alloy to fold wings in-flight. NASA, in this flight, observed the successful folding of PTERA’s wings 70 degrees upward.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Calibration Laboratory in California has a workload that is 80 percent related to items used in preparing aircraft for flight. To successfully complete that work takes a staff, which from left includes Paul Craig, James Kelly, David Swindle, Arnold Gonzales, Ronnie Juvinall, Anita Solorio and Alex Rivera. They are standing by a 1948 calibration tool they call the boat anchor, which still is a valued asset. 

The No Chase COA (NCC) team at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center pose for a group photo with the unmanned aircraft system the Ikhana.

A Bell OH-58C Kiowa helicopter provided by Flight Research Inc. in Mojave, California, prepares to land at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California the first week of December 2020. The Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign project used the helicopter as a surrogate urban air mobility vehicle to develop a data baseline for future flight testing. 

NASA Administrator Bridenstine tests the X-57 "Maxwell" simulator at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. The simulator is designed to provide feedback to NASA test pilots based on the aircraft's unique design and distributed electric propulsion system.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center staff members monitor a test of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Engineers monitor data during vibration testing of a cruise motor controller for the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane. Attached to a table at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center's environmental lab, the cruise motor controller is exposed to specific levels of vibration, allowing NASA to examine the structural integrity of the hardware. Engineers, meanwhile, monitored data, including waveforms of electrical current, and recorded readings.

Alex Rivera purges a gauge of contamination prior to a calibration test at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

NASA Armstrong pilots Stu Broce, Greg Nelson and Tim Williams sign autographs for people at the Los Angeles County Air Show in Lancaster, California.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

Amberly Guerra, left, tries on life support equipment while Ali Zendejas, Betty Mojica and Julian Guerra, her dad, watch.

Over 300 students watch as Serena M. Auñón-Chancel, a NASA astronaut, answers several questions from children attending Take your Kids to Work Day at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center staff members monitor a test of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Paul Craig calibrates specialized high-level radio frequency equipment at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57's functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57's goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Ames Research Center researchers from left to right Yasmin Arbab,   Faisal Omar and Mark Snycerski on the Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign project’s Airspace Test Infrastructure (ATI) team as well as Armstrong’s Sam Simpliciano in the background. The researchers monitor surveillance data from the helicopter in real time during the NC Integrated Dry Run Test the first week of December 2020 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

NASA engineers put the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane, through its initial telemetry tests at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, testing the aircraft’s ability to transmit data to teams on the ground. The data is packaged and transmitted down to ground assets, where it’s decoded into a format that can be presented to a flight control team to look at screens in real time for flight operations. X-57’s goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

In Armstrong auditorium, Bridenstine discusses the future of NASA under his administration then answered questions from employees

NASA's Daryl Ferguson, mission commander and pilot, Steve Hamilton and Brad Petty unload the TigerShark at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

The X-57 Mod II wing is rejoined with the aircraft's fuselage to begin preparations for reintegration at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. X-57's Mod II configuration, the first of three primary modifications for the project, involves testing of the aircraft's cruise electric propulsion system.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark sits on the lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base after completing a flight for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

NASA research engineer Jonathan Lopez secures a Compact Fiber Optic Sensing System unit, also known as a FOSS Rocket Box, which was developed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The unit is a new variant of aircraft technology that researchers have advanced to withstand the harsh environments of a rocket launch and space travel.

NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell had its Mod II wing carefully prepared for a lift to position it over the fuselage for reattachment at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. The aircraft was shipped as two parts, the fuselage and the wing.

A lift device was attached to Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser for a helicopter to pick it up to drop for its successful approach and landing test at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California on Nov. 11, 2017.

The Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation’s TigerShark prepares for its final takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems integration in the National Airspace Systems, Flight Test Series Six (FT6) project. FT6 flight tests took place at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California and focused on low size weight and power sensors for Detect and Avoid (DAA) operations in controlled airspace to inform the FAA through the RTCA Special Committee DAA Working Group on the phase 2 minimum operational performance standards for DAA and air-to-air radar.

NASA’s Ikhana aircraft, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, takes off for the agency’s first large-scale, remotely-piloted aircraft flight in the national airspace without a safety chase aircraft.

Sierra Nevada Corp’s Dream Chaser was lifted by helicopter from the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, before its successful approach and landing flight test on Nov. 11, 2017.

The load pad bonding process for the vertical tails was a preliminary step in the process to test the F/A-18E from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, Maryland. The aircraft is in NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Flight Loads Laboratory in Edwards, California, for the center’s biggest load calibrations tests. This testing is needed before the aircraft can serve as a test vehicle for determining if it can safely manage maneuvers and proposed upgrades.

Engineers monitor data during vibration testing of a cruise motor controller for the X-57 Maxwell, NASA’s first all-electric X-plane. Attached to a table at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s environmental lab, the cruise motor controller is exposed to specific levels of vibration, allowing NASA to examine the structural integrity of the hardware. Engineers, meanwhile, monitored data, including waveforms of electrical current, and recorded readings.

Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation's Steve Hamilton, lead TigerShark pilot, and Brad Petty, mission commander and pilot, unload the crate containing the TigerShark at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Engineers from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and Empirical Systems Aerospace prepare a cruise motor controller, planned to be used on NASA's all-electric X-57 Maxwell, for vibration testing at Armstrong's environmental lab. Testing the cruise motor controller at various vibration levels, based on baseline flight testing in the project's first phase, helps ensure that the hardware will withstand similar vibration in flight conditions. X-57, NASA's first all-electric experimental aircraft, or X-plane, will fly in its first all-electric configuration in 2020.

Telemetry testing begins on the X-57 Maxwell, NASA's first all-electric X-plane, as the operations crew at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center records the results. Telemetry testing is a critical phase in X-57's functional test series. In addition to confirming the ability of the X-57 aircraft to transmit speed, altitude, direction, and location to teams on the ground, telemetry testing also confirms the ability to transmit mission-critical-data, such as voltage, power consumption, and structural integrity. X-57's goal is to help set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

The black circle inside the helmet on the right contains some of the new elements of a noise reduction headphone that is part of an Active Noise Reduction system. It helps pilots hear better and improve communication during flight research missions.

The Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing bends under pressure from the highest loads applied during testing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Pilot Stu Broce is pre-breathing 100% oxygen prior to take off for an Air-LUSI flight at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Former Apollo Astronaut Vance Brand leads a discussion about Apollo and beyond at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, with deputy center director Patrick Stoliker.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center staff members monitor a test of the Passive Aeroelastic Tailored (PAT) wing at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California.

Engineers Raquel Rodriguez Monje and Fabien Nicaise discuss placement of the DopplerScatt radar instrument on the NASA B200 before its final installation onto the aircraft’s fuselage.

Jake Schaefer, left, looks over control information on a monitor in front of him for the X-56A before flight. Next to him are Matt Boucher, Jeff Ouellette and Peter Suh.

NASA Administrator Bridenstine tests the X-57 "Maxwell" simulator at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. The simulator is designed to provide feedback to NASA test pilots based on the aircraft's unique design and distributed electric propulsion system.