This photograph is believed to have been taken in the early 1960s and shows Dr. von Braun at the Douglas Aircraft Company's Missile Space Systems Division in Sacramento, California.
American Airlines aircraft in the gate area at Charlotte Douglas International Airport where ATD-2 began in 2017.
The Saturn IB S-IVB (second) stages in storage at the Douglas Aircraft Company's Sacramento Test Operations Facility (SACTO) in Sacramento, California. Designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Douglas Aircraft Company, the S-IVB stage was powered by a single J-2 engine, which produced 200,000 pounds of thrust, later uprated to 230,000 pounds for the Saturn V launch vehicle.
Behind three Douglas D-558-IIs is the B-29 launch aircraft. Under its right wing is the world’s first ground-based reaction control system motion simulator.
DOUGLAS XA3D-1 #413 AIRPLANE MOUNTED IN THE NACA AMES RESEARCH CENTER'S 40X80_FOOT SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL sweptback wing Testing the wing boundary layer control of the A3D in the 40 x 80 wind tunnel. Boundary layer control was added to increase the lift of the wing for aircraft carrier take off and landing.
Battle Damage test conducted in the Ames 40x80ft. Subsonic Wind Tunnel, Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA on the Navy A-4B airplane (The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company model I.d. Numbers 4906 and 3A244)
McDonnell Douglas YAV-8B (Bu. No. 158394 NASA 704 VSRA) Harrier V/STOL Systems Research Aircraft hover Note: Used in publication in Flight Research at Ames; 57 Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology NASA SP-1998-3300 fig.125
In 1954 this photo of two swept wing airplanes was taken on the ramp of NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station. The Douglas D-558-ll is a research aircraft while the Boeing B-47A Stratojet is a production bomber and very different in size. Both contributed to the studies for swept back wing research.
DOUGLAS XA3D-1 #413 AIRPLANE MOUNTED IN THE NACA AMES RESEARCH CENTER'S 40X80_FOOT SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL Testing the boundary layer control of the A3D in the 40 x 80 wind tunnel. Boundary layer control was added to increase the lift of the wing for take off from an aircraft carrier.
The J-2 engine for Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage blasted from the test stand at Douglas Aircraft Co., Sacramento Test Operation (SACTO) facility in California. This third stage was used on the unmarned Saturn V flight of Apollo 6 in April 1968.
This image depicts the Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage for the Apollo 10 mission being removed from the Beta Test Stand 1 after its acceptance test at the Douglas Aircraft Company's Sacramento Test Operations (SACTO) facility. After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage was ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity injecting it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory. Developed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in California, the S-IVB stage measures about 21.5 feet in diameter, about 58 feet in length, and powered by a single 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 engine with a re-start capability. The S-IVB stage was also used on the second stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle.
Workmen remove the Saturn IB S-IVB-206, the second flight stage for the Skylab 2 mission, from the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Center. Designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and the Douglas Aircraft Company in Sacramento, California, the stage was powered by a single J-2 engine, which produced 200,000 pounds of thrust, later uprated to 230,000 pounds for the Saturn V launch vehicle.
After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity, injecting it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory. Developed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Huntington, California, the S-IVB stage measures about 21.5 feet in diameter, about 58 feet in length and is powered by a single 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 engine with a re-start capability. The S-IVB stage was also used on the second stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle. The fully-assembled S-IVB (third) stage for the AS-503 (Apollo 8 mission) launch vehicle is pictured in the Douglas' vertical checkout building.
This photograph was taken at the Redstone airfield, Huntsville, Alabama, during the unloading of the Saturn V S-IVB stage that housed the Orbital Workshop (OWS) from the Super Guppy, the NASA plane that was specially built to carry oversized cargo. The OWS measured 22 feet (6.7 m) in diameter, and 48 feet (14.6 m) in length. The Saturn V S-IVB stage was modified at the McDornell Douglas facility at Huntington Beach, California, for a new role, which was to house the OWS. In addition to the test articles, engineering mockups, and flight equipment, both McDonnell Douglas and Martin Marietta built 0-G trainers, neutral buoyancy trainers, and high-fidelity mockups for the 1-G trainer to be used in the KC-135 aircraft. The Marshall Space Flight Center had program management responsibility for the development of Skylab hardware and experiments.
D-558-I in flight.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, on an early research flight over Rogers Dry Lake. The former Navy aircraft was flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to evaluate a number of experimental aerospace technologies in a multi-year, joint NASA/DOD/industry program. Among the more than 20 experiments flight-tested were several involving fiber optic sensor systems. Experiments developed by McDonnell-Douglas and Lockheed-Martin centered on installation and maintenace techniques for various types of fiber-optic hardware proposed for use in military and commercial aircraft, while a Parker-Hannifin experiment focused on alternative fiber-optic designs for postion measurement sensors as well as operational experience in handling optical sensor systems. Other experiments flown on this testbed aircraft included electronically-controlled control surface actuators, flush air data collection systems, "smart" skin antennae and laser-based systems. Incorporation of one or more of these technologies in future aircraft and spacecraft could result in signifigant savings in weight, maintenance and overall cost.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, during a research flight. The former Navy aircraft was flown by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, to evaluate a number of experimental aerospace technologies in a multi-year, joint NASA/DOD/industry program. Among the more than 20 experiments flight-tested were several involving fiber optic sensor systems. Experiments developed by McDonnell-Douglas and Lockheed-Martin centered on installation and maintenace techniques for various types of fiber-optic hardware proposed for use in military and commercial aircraft, while a Parker-Hannifin experiment focused in alternative fiber-optic designs for position measurement sensors as well as operational experience in handling optical sensor systems. Other experiments flown on this testbed aircraft included electronically-controlled control surface actuators, flush air data collection systems, "smart" skin antennae and laser-based systems. Incorporation of one or more of these technologies in future aircraft and spacecraft could result in signifigant savings in weight, maintenance and overall cost.
In the center foreground of this 1953 hangar photo is the YF-84A (NACA 134/Air Force 45-59490) used for vortex generator research. It arrived on November 28, 1949, and departed on April 21, 1954. Beside it is the third D-558-1 aircraft (NACA 142/Navy 37972). This aircraft was used for a total of 78 transonic research flights from April 1949 to June 1954. It replaced the second D-558-1, lost in the crash which killed Howard Lilly. Just visible on the left edge is the nose of the first D-558-2 (NACA 143/Navy 37973). Douglas turned the aircraft over to NACA on August 31, 1951, after the contractor had completed its initial test flights. NACA only made a single flight with the aircraft, on September 17, 1956, before the program was cancelled. In the center of the photo is the B-47A (NACA 150/Air Force 49-1900). The B-47 jet bomber, with its thin, swept-back wings, and six podded engines, represented the state of the art in aircraft design in the early 1950s. The aircraft undertook a number of research activities between May 1953 and its 78th and final research flight on November 22, 1957. The tests showed that the aircraft had a buffeting problem at speeds above Mach 0.8. Among the pilots who flew the B-47 were later X-15 pilots Joe Walker, A. Scott Crossfield, John B. McKay, and Neil A. Armstrong. On the right side of the B-47 is NACA's X-1 (Air Force 46-063). The second XS-1 aircraft built, it was fitted with a thicker wing than that on the first aircraft, which had exceeded Mach 1 on October 14, 1947. Flight research by NACA pilots indicated that this thicker wing produced 30 percent more drag at transonic speeds compared to the thinner wing on the first X-1. After a final flight on October 23, 1951, the aircraft was grounded due to the possibility of fatigue failure of the nitrogen spheres used to pressurize the fuel tanks. At the time of this photo, in 1953, the aircraft was in storage. In 1955, the aircraft was extensively modified, becoming the X-1E. In front o
The aircraft in this 1953 photo of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) hangar at South Base of Edwards Air Force Base showed the wide range of research activities being undertaken. On the left side of the hangar are the three D-558-2 research aircraft. These were designed to test swept wings at supersonic speeds approaching Mach 2. The front D-558-2 is the third built (NACA 145/Navy 37975). It has been modified with a leading-edge chord extension. This was one of a number of wing modifications, using different configurations of slats and/or wing fences, to ease the airplane's tendency to pitch-up. NACA 145 had both a jet and a rocket engine. The middle aircraft is NACA 144 (Navy 37974), the second built. It was all-rocket powered, and Scott Crossfield made the first Mach 2 flight in this aircraft on November 20, 1953. The aircraft in the back is D-558-2 number 1. NACA 143 (Navy 37973) was also carried both a jet and a rocket engine in 1953. It had been used for the Douglas contractor flights, then was turned over to the NACA. The aircraft was not converted to all-rocket power until June 1954. It made only a single NACA flight before NACA's D-558-2 program ended in 1956. Beside the three D-558-2s is the third D-558-1. Unlike the supersonic D-558-2s, it was designed for flight research at transonic speeds, up to Mach 1. The D-558-1 was jet-powered, and took off from the ground. The D-558-1's handling was poor as it approached Mach 1. Given the designation NACA 142 (Navy 37972), it made a total of 78 research flights, with the last in June 1953. In the back of the hangar is the X-4 (Air Force 46-677). This was a Northrop-built research aircraft which tested a swept wing design without horizontal stabilizers. The aircraft proved unstable in flight at speeds above Mach 0.88. The aircraft showed combined pitching, rolling, and yawing motions, and the design was considered unsuitable. The aircraft, the second X-4 built, was then used as a pilot traine
S84-35757 (May 1984) --- Astronaut Judith A. Resnik, 41-D mission specialist, and Charles Walker, payload specialist for that June 1984 flight, prepare for some scheduled intravehicular activity involving the continuous flow electrophoresis systems (CFES) experiment. CFES will join the six-member crew aboard the Earth-orbiting Discovery for a seven day mission. The two share in preparing a sample to be processed by the CFES. In the background are stowage lockers and a CFES trainer-- part of the Shuttle one-g trainer at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). Walker, an engineer at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. in St. Louis, Missouri, will be the first Shuttle payload specialist to represent a project designed for commercial purposes. As payload specialist, his job will be to run the materials electrophoresis-operations-in-space project. The project is aimed at separating large quantities of biological materials in space for ultimate use in new pharmaceuticals. The photo was taken by a McDonnell Douglas photographer.
A refanned Pratt and Whitney JT-8D-109 turbofan engine installed in Cell 4 of the Propulsion Systems Laboratory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center. NASA Lewis’ Refan Program sought to demonstrate that noise reduction modifications could be applied to existing aircraft engines with minimal costs and without diminishing the engine’s performance or integrity. At the time, Pratt and Whitney’s JT-8D turbofans were one of the most widely used engines in the commercial airline industry. The engines powered Boeing’s 727 and 737 and McDonnell Douglas’ DC-9 aircraft. Pratt and Whitney worked with the airline manufacturers on a preliminary study that verified feasibility of replacing the JT-8D’s two-stage fan with a larger single-stage fan. The new fan slowed the engine’s exhaust, which significantly reduced the amount of noise it generated. Booster stages were added to maintain the proper level of airflow through the engine. Pratt and Whitney produced six of the modified engines, designated JT-8D-109, and performed the initial testing. One of the JT-8D-109 engines, seen here, was tested in simulated altitude conditions in NASA Lewis’ Propulsion Systems Laboratory. The Refan engine was ground-tested on an actual aircraft before making a series of flight tests on 727 and DC-9 aircraft in early 1976. The Refan Program reduced the JT-8D’s noise by 50 percent while increasing the fuel efficiency. The retro-fit kits were estimated to cost between $1 million and $1.7 million per aircraft.
Fred W. Haise Jr. was a research pilot and an astronaut for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1959 to 1979. He began flying at the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio (today the Glenn Research Center), in 1959. He became a research pilot at the NASA Flight Research Center (FRC), Edwards, Calif., in 1963, serving NASA in that position for three years until being selected to be an astronaut in 1966 His best-known assignment at the FRC (later redesignated the Dryden Flight Research Center) was as a lifting body pilot. Shortly after flying the M2-F1 on a car tow to about 25 feet on April 22, 1966, he was assigned as an astronaut to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. While at the FRC he had also flown a variety of other research and support aircraft, including the variable-stability T-33A to simulate the M2-F2 heavyweight lifting body, some light aircraft including the Piper PA-30 to evaluate their handling qualities, the Apache helicopter, the Aero Commander, the Cessna 310, the Douglas F5D, the Lockheed F-104 and T-33, the Cessna T-37, and the Douglas C-47. After becoming an astronaut, Haise served as a backup crewmember for the Apollo 8, 11, and 16 missions. He flew on the aborted Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, spending 142 hours and 54 minutes in space before returning safely to Earth. In 1977, he was the commander of three free flights of the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise when it flew its Approach and Landing Tests at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Meanwhile, from April 1973 to January 1976, Haise served as the Technical Assistant to the Manager of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project. In 1979, he left NASA to become the Vice President for Space Programs with the Grumman Aerospace Corporation. He then served as President of Grumman Technical Services, an operating division of Northrop Grumman Corporation, from January 1992 until his retirement. Haise was born in Biloxi, Miss., on November 14, 1933. He underwent flight traini
General Dwight Eisenhower addressed the staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory during an April 11, 1946 visit to Cleveland. The former supreme commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe was on a tour of several US cities in the months following the end of World War II. The general arrived in Cleveland on his Douglas C-54 Skymaster, the 'Sunflower II'. Eisenhower employed this aircraft while leading forces during the war. Skymasters, the military version of the DC–4 transport aircraft, were used extensively by both the army and navy throughout the war years. NACA Secretary John Victory, Lewis Director Raymond Sharp, and local politicians formally greeted Eisenhower as he deplaned at the NACA hangar. After patiently posing for the press photographers, Eisenhower accompanied Victory and Sharp to the Administration Building for a press conference. The general made a point of downplaying the prospects for another imminent war. Afterwards Eisenhower was given a tour of the laboratory and addressed the NACA Lewis staff assembled outside the Administration Building on the importance of research and development. Eisenhower left the laboratory in a motorcade for a banquet being held in his honor downtown with the Cleveland Aviation Club.
Several aircraft parked inside the Flight Research Building, or hangar, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. A Convair F-106B Delta Dart is in the foreground, a Convair F-102A Delta Dagger is to the right, a Douglas DC-3 is in the back to left, and a Convair T-29 is in background. Lewis’ Martin B-57B Canberra is not seen in this photograph. The F-102A had just been acquired by Lewis to serve as a chase plane for the F-106B. The Lewis team removed the weapons system and 700 pounds of wire from the F-106B when it was acquired on October 20, 1966. The staff cut holes in the wings and modified the elevons to mount the test nacelles. A 228-gallon fuel tank was installed in the missile bay, and the existing wing tanks were used for instrumentation. This photograph contains a rare view of the Block House, seen to the left of the aircraft. Lewis acquired three large developmental programs in 1962—the Centaur and Agena rockets and the M-1 engine. The center was short on office space at the time, and its flight research program was temporarily on the wane. Lewis management decided to construct a large cinderblock structure inside one half of the hangar to house the new personnel. This structure was used until 1965 when the new Developmental Engineering Building was built. The Block House was eventually torn down in 1973.
F5D Skylancer with camera installation in nose.
F5D Skylancer NASA 212 modified as the X-20 Dyna-Soar vision field simulator.
F5D Skylancer taxis in after a mission.
Early NACA research aircraft on the lakebed at the High Speed Research Station in 1955: Left to right: X-1E, D-558-II, X-1B
NACA pilot A. Scott Crossfield next to the D-558-2 after first Mach 2 flight.
Scott Crossfield in cockpit of the Douglas D-558-2 after first Mach 2 flight.
Scott Crossfield talks to newsmen in front of NACA South Base hangar after his first flight to Mach 2 in the Douglas D-558-2.
STS-96 Mission Specialist Julie Payette, who represents the Canadian Space Agency, arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. The STS-96 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment. Others in the STS-96 crew are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, who represents the Russian Space Agency
After arriving at Kennedy on the T-38 jet aircraft in the background, the STS-96 crew take a few minutes to talk to the media at the Shuttle Landing Facility. At the microphone is Commander Kent V. Rominger. With him are (left to right) Mission Specialist Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), and Julie Payette. Tokarev is with the Russian Space Agency and Payette is with the Canadian Space Agency. The crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment
This is a view of the Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage for the AS-209 (Apollo-Soyuz test project backup vehicle) on a transporter in the right foreground, and the S-IVB stage for AS-504 (Apollo 9 mission) being installed in the Beta Test Stand 1 at the SACTO facility in California. After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during this Earth parking orbit, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited to speed the Apollo spacecraft to escape velocity and inject it and the astronauts into a moon trajectory. Developed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in California, the S-IVB stage measures about 21.5 feet in diameter, about 58 feet in length, and is powered by a single 200,000-pound-thrust J-2 engine with a re-start capability. The S-IVB stage was also used on the second stage of the Saturn IB launch vehicle.
STS-96 Commander Kent V. Rominger arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. The STS-96 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment. Others in the STS-96 crew are Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency and Tokarev the Russian Space Agency
STS-96 Mission Specialist Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, who represents the Russian Space Agency, arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. The STS-96 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment. Others in the STS-96 crew are Commander Kent V. Rominger, Pilot Rick Douglas Husband, and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), and Julie Payette, who represents the Canadian Space Agency
After arriving at Kennedy on the T-38 jet aircraft in the background, the STS-96 crew pose for photographers at the Shuttle Landing Facility. From left are Pilot Rick Douglas Husband; Mission Specialists Julie Payette, Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Valery Ivanovich Tokarev, and Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.); and Commander Kent V. Rominger. Tokarev is with the Russian Space Agency and Payette is with the Canadian Space Agency. The crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment
STS-96 Pilot Rick Douglas Husband arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility in a T-38 jet aircraft. The STS-96 crew are taking part in Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities. The TCDT provides the crew with simulated countdown exercises, emergency egress training, and opportunities to inspect the mission payloads in the orbiter's payload bay. Mission STS-96, which is targeted for launch on May 20 at 9:32 a.m., is a logistics and resupply mission for the International Space Station, carrying such payloads as a Russian crane, the Strela; a U.S.-built crane; the Spacehab Oceaneering Space System Box (SHOSS), a logistics items carrier; and STARSHINE, a student-led experiment. Others in the STS-96 crew are Commander Kent V. Rominger and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa (Ph.D.), Tamara E. Jernigan (Ph.D.), Daniel Barry (M.D., Ph.D.), Julie Payette and Valery Ivanovich Tokarev. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency and Tokarev the Russian Space Agency
A group picture of Douglas Airplanes, taken for a photographic promotion in 1954, at what is now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The photo includes the X-3 (in front--Air Force serial number 49-2892) then clockwise D-558-I, XF4D-1 (a Navy jet fighter prototype not flown by the NACA), and the first D-558-II (NACA tail number 143, Navy serial number 37973), which was flown only once by the NACA.
This look-down view of the X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft on the ramp at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, clearly shows the unusual wing and canard design of the remotely-piloted aircraft.
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.
The lack of a vertical tail on the X-36 technology demonstrator is evident as the remotely piloted aircraft flies a low-altitude research flight above Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert on October 30, 1997.
Lit by the rays of the morning sunrise on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, a technician prepares the remotely-piloted X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft for its first flight on May 17, 1997.
Lit by the rays of the morning sunrise on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, technicians prepare the remotely-piloted X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft for its first flight in May 1997.
The X-36 technology demonstrator shows off its distinctive shape as the remotely piloted aircraft flies a research mission over the Southern California desert on October 30, 1997.
As the sun creeps above the horizon of Rogers Dry Lake at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, technicians make final preparations for the first flight of the X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft.
The tailless X-36 technology demonstrator research aircraft cruises over the California desert at low altitude during a 1997 research flight.
The unusual lines of the X-36 technology demonstrator contrast sharply with the desert floor as the remotely piloted aircraft scoots across the California desert at low altitude during a research flight on October 30, 1997.
High-Speed Research Station Director Walter C. Williams, NACA pilot A. Scott Crossfield, and Director of Flight Operations Joe Vensel in front of the Douglas D-558-2 after the first Mach 2 flight.
The X-36 technology demonstrator shows off its distinctive shape as the remotely piloted aircraft flies a research mission over the Southern California desert on October 30, 1997.
A collection of NASA's research aircraft on the ramp at the Dryden Flight Research Center in July 1997: X-31, F-15 ACTIVE, SR-71, F-106, F-16XL Ship #2, X-38, Radio Controlled Mothership and X-36.
These people and this equipment supported the flight of the NACA D-558-2 Skyrocket at the High-Speed Flight Station at South Base, Edwards AFB. Note the two Sabre chase planes, the P2B-1S launch aircraft, and the profusion of ground support equipment, including communications, tracking, maintenance, and rescue vehicles. Research pilot A. Scott Crossfield stands in front of the Skyrocket.
Progress in the Saturn program, depicted below, was described by Dr. Wernher von Braun, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director, in an appearance before the Senate Committee of Aeronautical and Space Sciences. "The flight configuration of the giant three-stage Saturn C-1 rocket (later called Saturn I Block I) is seen in the Fabrication and Assembly Engineering Division at MSFC. Dwarfed by the 180-foot C-1 are a Juno II rocket (left rear) and a Mercury-Redstone rocket (front foreground). The C-1 (first version of the Saturn rocket) is composed of an S-1 first stage or booster (rear), powered by eight H-1 engines having a thrust of 1,500,000 pounds, followed by a dummy S-IV second stage and a dummy S-V third stage. The "live" S-IV for later flights, under development by Douglas Aircraft Co., will be powered by four Pratt Whitney LR-119 engines having 17,500,000 pounds thrust each. The live S-V, under development by Convair Division of General Dynamics Corp., will use two LR-119 engines. With all three stages live, the C-1 will be capable of placing 19,000 pounds into a 300-mile Earth orbit, sending 5,000 pounds to escape velocity, or lofting 2,500 pounds to Mars or Venus. The second version Saturn C-2 (later called Saturn 1 Block II) would double these capabilities. Early C-1 flights will employ a live S-1 with dummy upper stages. The first such flight is scheduled late this year."
From December 10, 1966, until his retirement on February 27, 1976, Stanley P. Butchart served as Chief (later, Director) of Flight Operations at NASA's Flight Research Center (renamed on March 26, 1976, the Hugh L. Dryden Flight Research Center). Initially, his responsibilities in this position included the Research Pilots Branch, a Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch, and an Operations Engineering Branch, the last of which not only included propulsion and electrical/electronic sections but project engineers for the X-15 and lifting bodies. During his tenure, however, the responsibilities of his directorate came to include not only Flight Test Engineering Support but Flight Systems and Loads laboratories. Before becoming Chief of Flight Operations, Butchart had served since June of 1966 as head of the Research Pilots Branch (Chief Pilot) and then as acting chief of Flight Operations. He had joined the Center (then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' High-Speed Flight Research Station) as a research pilot on May 10, 1951. During his career as a research pilot, he flew a great variety of research and air-launch aircraft including the D-558-I, D-558-II, B-29 (plus its Navy version, the P2B), X-4, X-5, KC-135, CV-880, CV-990, B-47, B-52, B-747, F-100A, F-101, F-102, F-104, PA-30 Twin Comanche, JetStar, F-111, R4D, B-720, and B-47. Although previously a single-engine pilot, he became the Center's principal multi-engine pilot during a period of air-launches in which the pilot of the air-launch aircraft (B-29 or P2B) basically directed the operations. It was he who called for the chase planes before each drop, directed the positioning of fire rescue vehicles, and released the experimental aircraft after ensuring that all was ready for the drop. As pilot of the B-29 and P2B, Butchart launched the X-1A once, the X-1B 13 times, the X-1E 22 times, and the D-558-II 102 times. In addition, he towed the M2-F1 lightweight lifting body 14 times behind an R4
Stan Butchart climbing into B-47.