M61-00012 (20 Jan. 1961) --- Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. pictured on the flight line climbing aboard a F-106 aircraft. Photo credit: NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

After initial ground-tow flights of the M2-F1 using the Pontiac as a tow vehicle, the way was clear to make air tows behind a C-47. The first air tow took place on 16 August 1963. Pilot Milt Thompson found that the M2-F1 flew well, with good control. This first flight lasted less than two minutes from tow-line release to touchdown. The descent rate was 4,000 feet per minute.

B60-00708 (1960) --- Astronaut Virgil I (Gus) Grissom pictured standing beside a F-102 on the flight line. Photo credit: NASA

M61-00007 (1961) --- Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. in the cockpit of a T-106. Photo credit: NASA

S61-01250 (20 Jan. 1961) --- Photo of the Mercury astronauts standing beside a Convair 106-B aircraft. They are, left to right, M. Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., John H. Glenn Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Walter M. Schirra Jr., Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Donald K. Slayton. EDITOR'S NOTE: Astronaut Gus Grissom died in the Apollo 1 -- Apollo/Saturn (AS-204) -- fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida on Jan. 27, 1967. Astronaut Deke Slayton died from complications of a brain tumor, in League City, Texas on June 13, 1993. Astronaut Shepard died after a lengthy illness in Monterey, California, on July 21, 1998. As of Jan. 1, 1977 none of the seven astronauts remained with the NASA Space Program. However, in October 1998, United States Senator Glenn (Democrat-Ohio) flew as payload specialist on the STS-95 mission. Photo credit: NASA

A Beech T-34C mission support aircraft flown by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center shows off its classic lines as it soars over the desert near Edwards Air Force Base.

NASA’s X-59 research aircraft moves from its construction site to the flight line – or the space between the hangar and the runway – at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, on June 16, 2023. This milestone kicks off a series of ground tests to ensure the X-59 is safe and ready to fly. The X-59 is designed to fly faster than Mach 1 while reducing the resulting sonic boom to a thump for people on the ground. NASA will evaluate this technology during flight tests as part of the agency’s Quesst mission, which helps enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: Move to Run Stall 5 Date: 6/19/2023 Additional Info:

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Tim Naumowicz holding the line.

Following the first M2-F1 airtow flight on 16 August 1963, the Flight Research Center used the vehicle for both research flights and to check out new lifting-body pilots. These included Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Fred Haise, and Bill Dana from NASA. Air Force pilots who flew the M2-F1 included Chuck Yeager, Jerry Gentry, Joe Engle, Jim Wood, and Don Sorlie, although Wood, Haise, and Engle only flew on car tows. In the three years between the first and last flights of the M2-F1, it made about 400 car tows and 77 air tows.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Carolyn Garcia leads the the staff to their places in the line to keep the numbers uniform.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. David Morse leads the the staff to their places in the line to keep the numbers uniform.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. David Morse leads the the staff to their places in the line to keep the numbers uniform.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. David Morse leads the the staff to their places in the line to keep the numbers uniform.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Jim Taylor and Jennifer Kremer in the line up.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Tech Partners group in line up.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Sheila Johnson orginazing the line up.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Sheila Johnson orginazing the line up.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Sheila Johnson orginazing the line up.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Center Director S. Pete Worden, Jack Boyd, Lewis Braxton, III start the line on the seven.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Return to Flight ( RTF ) flow line Air Test

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

UH-60 RASCAL (NASA-750) on flight line

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Center Director S. Pete Worden, ______, Jack Boyd, Lewis Braxton, III, Tim Naumowicz start the line on the seven.

STS-79 mission commander William F. Readdy checks the center-line docking camera in the orbiter docking system (ODS) during flight day 3. The camera will be used on flight day 4 to line up the Atlantis for its docking with the Mir space station.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. JP Wiens taking pictures

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Jim Taylor and Jennifer Kremer

NAH-1S (NASA-736) Cobra on,the NASA Ames flight line at sunrise

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Dominic Hart shooting photo's.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Dominic Hart shooting photo's.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

GRUMMAN F6F-3 #874 AIRPLANE on the NACA Ames flight line

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Arc Jet crew.

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Femmy McGrath and ......

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Donald James waving.

NRP partnerships: Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication ceremony at Moffett Field Flight Line, Moffett Field, CA

M61-00017 (10 Jan. 1961) --- Astronaut M. Scott Carpenter on flight line with a F-106. Photo credit: NASA

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. In photo Doreen Cohen, Gabe Lozano and wife, Paul McKim, Karen Bradford

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Eric James in helicopter taking the aerial view of the 70.

LOCKHEED F-94C #156 AIRPLANE. COOLING AIR EJECTOR on NACA Ames Flight Line

XV-5B (NASA-705) on Flight Line at Ames Research Center with hangar in the background.

LOCKHEED F-94C #156 AIRPLANE. COOLING AIR EJECTOR on NACA Ames Flight Line

High Altitude MTPE Aircraft on flight line in front of N-211 hangar - three ER-2 and retiring U-2

Navy CHANCE VOUGHT F7U-3 #656 AIRPLANE on NACA Ames flight line

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Eric James in helicopter taking the aerial view of the 70.

Navy CHANCE VOUGHT F7U-3 #656 AIRPLANE on NACA Ames flight line

High Altitude MTPE Aircraft on flight line in front of N-211 hangar - three ER-2 and retiring U-2

Ames 70_year picture day on Flight line. Eric James in helicopter taking the aerial view of the 70.

High Altitude MTPE Aircraft on flight line in front of N-211 hangar - three ER-2 and retiring U-2

Navy - NORTH AMERICAN FJ-3 #800 AIRPLANe on the NACA Ames flight line

NRP partnerships: Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication ceremony at Moffett Field Flight Line, Moffett Field, CA. Speaker, Brian Hall, Airship Ventures

XV-15 Tilt Rotor (NASA-703) hovers at Ames Research Center with Navy P-3 Orion on flight line in foreground

NRP partnerships: Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication ceremony at Moffett Field Flight Line, Moffett Field, CA Wolfgang Von Zeppelin speaks at dedication.

NRP partnerships: Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication ceremony at Moffett Field Flight Line, Moffett Field, CA Speaker Colonel William Moffett III

NRP partnerships: Airship Ventures Zeppelin Dedication ceremony at Moffett Field Flight Line, Moffett Field, CA. Alex Hall, Airship Ventures

Test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technical capability Level 2 (TCL2) at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada. During the test, five drones simultaneously crossed paths, separated by altitude. Two drones flew beyond visual line-of-sight and three flew within line-of-sight of their operators. Engineers Priya Venkatesan and Joey Mercer review flight paths using the UAS traffic management research platform at flight operations mission control at NASA’s UTM TCL2 test.

Women with leadership positions at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center pose with members of the all-female crew for Delta Air Lines’ Women Inspiring Our Next Generation (WING) flight after the crew touched down on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the Florida spaceport. The flight brought girls from Atlanta, Georgia, ranging in age from 11 to 18, to view center facilities and hear a panel of women discuss their careers with NASA and Delta Air Lines.