Melvin Gough at the Tail of a NACA Lockheed Plane

Event: SEG 230 Nose The X-59’s nose is wrapped up safely and rests on a dolly before the team temporarily attaches it to the aircraft for fit checks at Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California. The full length of the X-plane’s nose is 38-feet – making up one third of the plane’s full length. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, once in the air will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was delivered in two large containers from Lockheed Martin to Cape Canaveral on an Air Force C-17 cargo plane.

Event: SEG 570 Vertical Tail Assembly - Final Install Lockheed Martin technicians work on a fit check and installation of the vertical tail onto the X-59 aircraft. The plane is under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will fly to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

The X-59 arrives in Fort Worth, Texas from Palmdale, California, ready to undergo some important structural and fuel tests at the Lockheed Martin facility. The bright blue wrap around the X-plane is a precautionary measure to keep the exterior of the X-59 safe as it traveled through multiple states on its way to Texas.

The X-59 arrives in Fort Worth, Texas from Palmdale, California, ready to undergo some important structural and fuel tests at the Lockheed Martin facility. The bright blue wrap around the X-plane is a precautionary measure to keep the exterior of the X-59 safe as it traveled through multiple states on its way to Texas.

The tail of NASA’s X-59 aircraft is shown here in late March at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California where the plane recently underwent a final install of the lower empennage or better known as tail section of the plane.

A overhead view of the X-59 with its nose on. The X-59’s nose is 38-feet long – approximately one third of the length of the entire aircraft. The plane is under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will fly to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

A panoramic side view of the left top of the X-59 supersonic plane with the tail on and the nose in the process of installation. The X-59’s nose is 38-feet long – approximately one third of the length of the entire aircraft. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

An overhead view of the X-59 supersonic plane with the tail on and the nose in the process of installation. The X-59’s nose is 38-feet long – approximately one third of the length of the entire aircraft. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

A quality inspector checks NASA’s X-59 aircraft during the construction phase. The X-59 was built in Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

A quality inspector inspects the GE F-414 engine nozzle after installation at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. Once the aircraft and ground testing are complete, the X-59 will undergo flight testing, which will demonstrate the plane’s ability to fly supersonic - faster than the speed of sound - while reducing the loud sonic boom. This could enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

This is an overhead view of the X-59 aircraft at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The nose was installed, and the plane awaits engine installation. Technicians continue to wire the aircraft as the team preforms several system checkouts to ensure the safety of the aircraft. The X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

3/4 front view of Fixed Wing SST - Lockheed SST on Ground Plane with leading edge flaps deflected in Ames 40x80 foot Wind Tunnel.

Mechanical technician Dan Pitts prepares a scale model of Lockheed Martin's Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) X-plane preliminary design for its first high-speed wind tunnel tests at NASA's Glenn Research Center.

Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks on a panel at a briefing after Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to develop the first X-plane, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Peter Iosifidis, program manager, Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks on a panel at a briefing after Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to develop the first X-plane, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Dave Richardson, director, Air Vehicle Design and Technologies, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks after the announcement that Lockheed Martin won the contract to develop the first X-plane at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Dave Richardson, director, Air Vehicle Design and Technologies, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, speaks after the announcement that Lockheed Martin won the contract to develop the first X-plane at a briefing, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This new experimental aircraft will cut cross country travel times in half by flying faster than the speed of sound without creating a sonic boom, enabling travel from New York to Los Angeles in two hours. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Workers at Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip oversee the offloading of the Centaur upper stage from a Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124. The Centaur will be coupled with an Atlas IIA to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Centaur, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin, is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

Workers at Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip oversee the offloading of the Centaur upper stage from a Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124. The Centaur will be coupled with an Atlas IIA to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Centaur, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin, is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

A Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124, arrives at Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip to deliver the Atlas IIA/Centaur rocket scheduled to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Visible is the Centaur upper stage, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin. The Centaur vehicle is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

A Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124, arrives at Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip to deliver the Atlas IIA/Centaur rocket scheduled to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Visible is the Centaur upper stage, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin. The Centaur vehicle is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

At Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip, the Centaur upper stage is placed aboard a transporter after arriving aboard a Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124. The Centaur will be coupled with an Atlas IIA to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Centaur, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin, is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

At Cape Canaveral Air Force skid strip, the Centaur upper stage is placed aboard a transporter after arriving aboard a Russian cargo plane, the Antenov 124. The Centaur will be coupled with an Atlas IIA to launch the latest Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) June 29 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Centaur, manufactured and operated by Lockheed Martin, is 3.05 m (10 ft) in diameter and 10.0 m (33-ft) long. It uses liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LO2) propellants

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Russian Antonov AH-124-100 cargo airplane lands at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip. The plane is delivering a second stage Centaur (Block I) for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V, designated AV-007, that is the launch vehicle for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The MRO is designed for a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. These observations will be unprecedented in terms of the spatial resolution and coverage achieved by the orbiter’s instruments as they observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy. The orbiter is undergoing environmental tests in facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colo., and is on schedule for a launch window that begins Aug. 10. Launch will be from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Russian Antonov AH-124-100 cargo airplane heads for a landing at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip. The plane is delivering a second stage Centaur (Block I) for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V, designated AV-007, that is the launch vehicle for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The MRO is designed for a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. These observations will be unprecedented in terms of the spatial resolution and coverage achieved by the orbiter’s instruments as they observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy. The orbiter is undergoing environmental tests in facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colo., and is on schedule for a launch window that begins Aug. 10. Launch will be from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Russian Antonov AH-124-100 cargo airplane lands at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip. The plane is delivering a second stage Centaur for the Lockheed Martin Atlas V, designated AV-007, that is the launch vehicle for the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The MRO is designed for a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. These observations will be unprecedented in terms of the spatial resolution and coverage achieved by the orbiter’s instruments as they observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy. The orbiter is undergoing environmental tests in facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colo., and is on schedule for a launch window that begins Aug. 10. Launch will be from Launch Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility, the Mars Polar Lander is rolled from the Air Force C-17 cargo plane that carried it from the Lockheed Martin Astronautics plant in Denver, CO. The Mars Polar Lander is targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999. The solar-powered spacecraft is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere

NASA is targeting 2022 for the first flight of the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) research aircraft. Its mission – fly over communities to collect data that could cut passenger travel time in half without disturbing people on the ground. NASA’s X-59 is equipped with supersonic technologies that aid in lowering the sound of the sonic boom. In this picture, the black rectangle panels are the air intakes for the environmental control system (ECS) that regulates the temperature, cabin pressure, and air distribution. The silver grate located at the rear of one of the ECS panels is the exhaust — both of these sections are traditionally housed on the underside of the plane. By placing these features on top of the X-59 wing, the wing blocks and prevents the ECS exhaust from interacting with the shock waves on the bottom of the aircraft. This unique design approach to re-shaping the shock wave pattern substantially reduces the sonic boom to more of a sonic “thump” when it reaches the ground. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: SEG 210 Forebody Date: 1/19/2021 Additional Info:

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, the Atlas V fairing halves for the New Horizons spacecraft have been offloaded from the Russian cargo plane (background). The fairing halves will be transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville. The fairing later will be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility. A fairing protects a spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once in space, it is jettisoned. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft, which is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I) is lifted onto a transporter after being offloaded from the Air Force C-17 air cargo plane at right. The second in a new series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-I replenishes the existing on-orbit fleet of six spacecraft. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017. TDRS-I will undergo processing in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) to prepare it for launch March 8 aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA rocket from Pad 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, one of the Atlas V fairing halves for the New Horizons spacecraft is offloaded from the Russian cargo plane. The fairing halves will be transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville. The fairing later will be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility. A fairing protects a spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once in space, it is jettisoned. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft, which is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

The Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft arrives at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane early this morning following its flight from the Lockheed Martin Astronautics plant in Denver, Colo. When the spacecraft arrives at the red planet, it will primarily support its companion Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, planned for launch on Jan. 3, 1999. After that, the Mars Climate Orbiter's instruments will monitor the Martian atmosphere and image the planet's surface on a daily basis for one Martian year (1.8 Earth years). It will observe the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, as well as characterize seasonal changes on the surface. The detailed images of the surface features will provide important clues to the planet's early climate history and give scientists more information about possible liquid water reserves beneath the surface. The scheduled launch date for the Mars Climate Orbiter is Dec. 10, 1998, on a Delta II 7425 rocket

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility, the Mars Polar Lander is loaded onto a truck after its flight aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane that carried it from the Lockheed Martin Astronautics plant in Denver, CO. The lander is being transported to the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2(SAEF-2) in the KSC Industrial Area for testing, including a functional test of the science instruments and the basic spacecraft subsystems. The solar-powered spacecraft is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere. The Mars Polar Lander spacecraft is planned for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999

The Atlas 1 rocket which will launch the GOES-K advanced weather satellite is unloaded from an Air Force C-5 air cargo plane after arrival at the Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS). The Lockheed Martin-built rocket and its Centaur upper stage will form the AC-79 vehicle, the final vehicle in the Atlas 1 series which began launches for NASA in 1962. Future launches of geostationary operational environmental satellites (GOES) in the current series will be on Atlas II vehicles. GOES-K will be the third spacecraft to be launched in the new advanced series of geostationary weather satellites built for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The spacecraft will be designated GOES-10 in orbit. The launch of AC-79/GOES-K is targeted for April 24 from Launch Pad 36B, CCAS

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Air Force C-17 air cargo plane offloads the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I). The second in a new series of telemetry satellites, TDRS-I replenishes the existing on-orbit fleet of six spacecraft. The TDRS System is the primary source of space-to-ground voice, data and telemetry for the Space Shuttle. It also provides communications with the International Space Station and scientific spacecraft in low-Earth orbit such as the Hubble Space Telescope. This new advanced series of satellites will extend the availability of TDRS communications services until about 2017. TDRS-I will undergo processing in the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) to prepare it for launch March 8 aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIA rocket from Pad 36-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

This image illustrates the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's) Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA). One of the three major elements of the HST, the OTA consists of two mirrors (a primary mirror and a secondary mirror), support trusses, and the focal plane structure. The mirrors collect and focus light from selected celestial objects and are housed near the center of the telescope. The primary mirror captures light from objects in space and focuses it toward the secondary mirror. The secondary mirror redirects the light to a focal plane where the Scientific Instruments are located. The primary mirror is 94.5 inches (2.4 meters) in diameter and the secondary mirror is 12.2 inches (0.3 meters) in diameter. The purpose of the HST, the most complex and sensitive optical telescope ever made, is to study the cosmos from a low-Earth Orbit. By placing the telescope in space, astronomers are able to collect data that is free of the Earth's atmosphere. The HST detects objects 25 times fainter than the dimmest objects seen from the Earth and provides astronomers with an observable universe 250 times larger than visible from ground-based telescopes, perhaps as far away as 14 billion light-years. The HST views galaxies, stars, planets, comets, possibly other solar systems, and even unusual phenomena such as quasars, with 10 times the clarity of ground-based telescopes. The spacecraft is 42.5 feet (13 meters) long and weighs 25,000 pounds (11,600 kilograms). The HST was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31 mission) into Earth orbit in April 1990. The Marshall Space Flight Center had responsibility for design, development, and construction of the HST. The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, in Danbury, Cornecticut, developed the optical system and guidance sensors. The Lockheed Missile and Space Company of Sunnyvale, California produced the protective outer shroud and spacecraft systems, and assembled and tested the finished telescope.

This illustration shows the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST's) major configuration elements. The spacecraft has three interacting systems: The Support System Module (SSM), an outer structure that houses the other systems and provides services such as power, communication, and control; The Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA), which collects and concentrates the incoming light in the focal plane for use by the Scientific Instruments (SI); and five SIs. The SI Control and Data Handling (CDH) unit controls the five SI's, four that are housed in an aft section focal plane structure and one that is placed along the circumference of the spacecraft. The purpose of the HST, the most complex and sensitive optical telescope ever made, is to study the cosmos from a low-Earth orbit. By placing the telescope in space, astronomers are able to collect data that is free of the Earth's atmosphere. The HST detects objects 25 times fainter than the dimmest objects seen from Earth and provides astronomers with an observable universe 250 times larger than visible from ground-based telescopes, perhaps as far away as 14 billion light-years. The HST views galaxies, stars, planets, comets, possibly other solar systems, and even unusual phenomena such as quasars, with 10 times the clarity of ground-based telescopes. The HST was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31 mission) into Earth orbit in April 1990. The Marshall Space Flight Center had responsibility for design, development, and construction of the HST. The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, in Danbury, Cornecticut, developed the optical system and guidance sensors. The Lockheed Missile and Space Company of Sunnyvale, California produced the protective outer shroud and spacecraft systems, and assembled and tested the finished telescope.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is loaded onto a tractor-trailer for transport to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., where it will be processed for launch. An Air Force C-17 cargo plane flew the spacecraft from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., to the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

In this photo, an RS-88 development rocket engine is being test fired at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in support of the Pad Abort Demonstration (PAD) test flights for NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP). The tests could be instrumental in developing the first crew launch escape system in almost 30 years. Paving the way for a series of integrated PAD test flights, the engine tests support development of a system that could pull a crew safely away from danger during liftoff. A series of 16 hot fire tests of a 50,000-pound thrust RS-88 rocket engine were conducted, resulting in a total of 55 seconds of successful engine operation. The engine is being developed by the Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power unit of the Boeing Company. Integrated launch abort demonstration tests in 2005 will use four RS-88 engines to separate a test vehicle from a test platform, simulating pulling a crewed vehicle away from an aborted launch. Four 156-foot parachutes will deploy and carry the vehicle to landing. Lockheed Martin is building the vehicles for the PAD tests. Seven integrated tests are plarned for 2005 and 2006.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Russian cargo plane sits on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center with the Atlas V fairing for the New Horizons spacecraft inside. The two fairing halves will be removed, loaded onto trucks and transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville. The fairing later will be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility. A fairing protects a spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once in space, it is jettisoned. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft, which is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An Air Force C-17 cargo plane arrives on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the space agency's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is loaded onto a tractor-trailer for transport to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., where it will be processed for launch. An Air Force C-17 cargo plane flew the spacecraft from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., to the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Aerospace industry representatives view actual and mock-up versions of 'X-Planes' intended to enhance access to space during a technical exposition on June 22, 2000 at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right: NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, in service with NASA since 1959; a neutral-buoyancy model of the Boeing's X-37; the Boeing X-40A behind the MicroCraft X-43 mock-up; Orbital Science's X-34 and the modified Lockheed L-1011 airliner that was intended to launch the X-34. These X-vehicles are part of NASA's Access to Space plan intended to bring new technologies to bear in an effort to dramatically lower the cost of putting payloads in space, and near-space environments. The June 22, 2000 NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Exposition included presentations on the history, present, and future of NASA's RLV program. Special Sessions for industry representatives highlighted the X-37 project and its related technologies. The X-37 project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, one of two containers with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment is rolled toward the ramp of the Air Force C-17 cargo plane. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments: the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Aerospace industry representatives view actual and mock-up versions of 'X-Planes' intended to enhance access to space during a technical exposition on June 22, 2000 at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right: NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, in service with NASA from 1959 to 2004; a neutral-buoyancy model of the Boeing's X-37; the Boeing X-40A behind the MicroCraft X-43 mock-up; Orbital Science's X-34 and the modified Lockheed L-1011 airliner that was intended to launch the X-34. These X-vehicles are part of NASA's Access to Space plan intended to bring new technologies to bear in an effort to dramatically lower the cost of putting payloads in space, and near-space environments. The June 22, 2000 NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Exposition included presentations on the history, present, and future of NASA's RLV program. Special Sessions for industry representatives highlighted the X-37 project and its related technologies. The X-37 project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft will be offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft will be offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility roll one of two containers with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment away from the Air Force C-17 cargo plane that delivered it. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments: the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility roll the second of two containers with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment away from the Air Force C-17 cargo plane that delivered it. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments: the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft is offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility roll one of two containers with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment away from the Air Force C-17 cargo plane that delivered it. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments: the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A tractor-trailer will transport NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla., where it will be processed for launch. An Air Force C-17 cargo plane flew the spacecraft from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., to the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An Air Force C-17 cargo plane arrives on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the space agency's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

The Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft is moved into the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2) in KSC's industrial area. It arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane early this morning following its flight from the Lockheed Martin Astronautics plant in Denver, Colo. When it arrives at the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter will primarily support its companion Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, planned for launch on Jan. 3, 1999. After that, the Mars Climate Orbiter's instruments will monitor the Martian atmosphere and image the planet's surface on a daily basis for one Martian year (1.8 Earth years). It will observe the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, as well as characterize seasonal changes on the surface. The detailed images of the surface features will provide important clues to the planet's early climate history and give scientists more information about possible liquid water reserves beneath the surface. The scheduled launch date for the Mars Climate Orbiter is Dec. 10, 1998, on a Delta II 7425 rocket

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center, one of the Atlas V fairing halves for the New Horizons spacecraft is moved away from the Russian cargo plane that delivered it. Behind the truck is the mate/demate device at the landing facility. The fairing halves will be transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville. The fairing later will be placed around the New Horizons spacecraft in the Payload Hazardous Service Facility. A fairing protects a spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once in space, it is jettisoned. The Lockheed Martin Atlas V is the launch vehicle for the New Horizons spacecraft, which is designed to make the first reconnaissance of Pluto and Charon - a "double planet" and the last planet in our solar system to be visited by spacecraft. The mission will then visit one or more objects in the Kuiper Belt region beyond Neptune. New Horizons is scheduled to launch in January 2006, swing past Jupiter for a gravity boost and scientific studies in February or March 2007, and reach Pluto and its moon, Charon, in July 2015.

This photo gives an overhead look at an RS-88 development rocket engine being test fired at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in support of the Pad Abort Demonstration (PAD) test flights for NASA's Orbital Space Plane (OSP). The tests could be instrumental in developing the first crew launch escape system in almost 30 years. Paving the way for a series of integrated PAD test flights, the engine tests support development of a system that could pull a crew safely away from danger during liftoff. A series of 16 hot fire tests of a 50,000-pound thrust RS-88 rocket engine were conducted, resulting in a total of 55 seconds of successful engine operation. The engine is being developed by the Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power unit of the Boeing Company. Integrated launch abort demonstration tests in 2005 will use four RS-88 engines to separate a test vehicle from a test platform, simulating pulling a crewed vehicle away from an aborted launch. Four 156-foot parachutes will deploy and carry the vehicle to landing. Lockheed Martin is building the vehicles for the PAD tests. Seven integrated tests are plarned for 2005 and 2006.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- An Air Force C-17 cargo plane arrives on the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the space agency's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Aerospace industry representatives view actual and mock-up versions of 'X-Planes' intended to enhance access to space during a technical exposition on June 22, 2000 at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right: NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, in service with NASA from 1959 to 2004; a neutral-buoyancy model of the Boeing's X-37; the Boeing X-40A behind the MicroCraft X-43 mock-up; Orbital Science's X-34 and the modified Lockheed L-1011 airliner that was intended to launch the X-34. These X-vehicles are part of NASA's Access to Space plan intended to bring new technologies to bear in an effort to dramatically lower the cost of putting payloads in space, and near-space environments. The June 22, 2000 NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Exposition included presentations on the history, present, and future of NASA's RLV program. Special Sessions for industry representatives highlighted the X-37 project and its related technologies. The X-37 project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

The Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft is moved onto a flatbed for transport to the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2). It arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo plane early this morning following its flight from the Lockheed Martin Astronautics plant in Denver, Colo. When it arrives at the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter will primarily support its companion Mars Polar Lander spacecraft, planned for launch on Jan. 3, 1999. After that, the Mars Climate Orbiter's instruments will monitor the Martian atmosphere and image the planet's surface on a daily basis for one Martian year (1.8 Earth years). It will observe the appearance and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, as well as characterize seasonal changes on the surface. The detailed images of the surface features will provide important clues to the planet's early climate history and give scientists more information about possible liquid water reserves beneath the surface. The scheduled launch date for the Mars Climate Orbiter is Dec. 10, 1998, on a Delta II 7425 rocket

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A forklift moves into place behind the Air Force C-17 cargo plane delivering the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipment to Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The MRO is being moved to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The MRO was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It is the next major step in Mars exploration and scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a window opening Aug. 10. The MRO carries six primary instruments: the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, Context Camera, Mars Color Imager, Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, Mars Climate Sounder and Shallow Radar. By 2007, the MRO will begin a series of global mapping, regional survey and targeted observations from a near-polar, low-altitude Mars orbit. It will observe the atmosphere and surface of Mars while probing its shallow subsurface as part of a “follow the water” strategy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft will be offloaded from an Air Force C-17 cargo plane on the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft traveled from the Lockheed Martin plant in Denver, Colo., and will undergo further processing in the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket that will carry GRAIL into lunar orbit already is fully stacked at NASA's Space Launch Complex 17B and launch is scheduled for Sept. 8. The GRAIL mission is a part of NASA's Discovery Program. GRAIL will fly twin spacecraft in tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure its gravity field. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/missions/grail/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Aerospace industry representatives view actual and mock-up versions of 'X-Planes' intended to enhance access to space during a technical exposition on June 22, 2000 at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. From left to right: NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, in service with NASA since 1959; a neutral-buoyancy model of the Boeing's X-37; the Boeing X-40A behind the MicroCraft X-43 mock-up; Orbital Science's X-34 and the modified Lockheed L-1011 airliner that was intended to launch the X-34. These X-vehicles are part of NASA's Access to Space plan intended to bring new technologies to bear in an effort to dramatically lower the cost of putting payloads in space, and near-space environments. The June 22, 2000 NASA Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Exposition included presentations on the history, present, and future of NASA's RLV program. Special Sessions for industry representatives highlighted the X-37 project and its related technologies. The X-37 project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama.

The X-59, NASA’s quiet supersonic technology experimental aircraft, is suspended in the air at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, following several months of critical ground testing in Ft. Worth, Texas

The X-59, NASA’s quiet supersonic technology experimental aircraft, arrives back at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, following several months of critical ground testing in Ft. Worth, Texas

The X-59, NASA's quiet supersonic technology experimental aircraft, sits in Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, following its return from several months of critical ground testing in Ft. Worth, Texas

A Lockheed Martin Skunk Works technician works to complete wiring on the X-59 aircraft in preparation for the power-on system checkouts. Once complete, the X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. This aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.

The X-59 is transported to the fuel barn at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas to undergo fuel tank calibration tests. During this phase, the X-59’s gas tanks were filled and fuel-remaining sensors inside the aircraft were checked.

Event: Forebody and Nose - Windtunnel Testing A model of the X-59 forebody is shown in the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ wind tunnel in Palmdale, California. These tests gave the team measurements of wind flow angle around the aircraft’s nose and confirmed computer predictions made using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software tools. The data will be fed into the aircraft flight control system to tell the pilot the aircraft’s altitude, speed and angle. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.

Here is an image of the X-59’s 13-foot General Electric F414 engine as the team prepares for a fit check. Making sure components, like the aircraft’s hydraulic lines, which help control functions like brakes or landing gear, and wiring of the engine, fit properly is essential to the aircraft’s safety. Once complete, the X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

Event: Manufacturing Area From Above A overhead view of the X-59 with its nose on. The X-59’s nose is 38-feet long – approximately one third of the length of the entire aircraft. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

In July 2021, NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana visits Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California to see the assembly of the X-59 QueSST.

Lockheed Martin technicians work to align and check the fastener holes on the X-59’s fuselage skin. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

A Lockheed Martin technician prepares holes for installation of the fuselage panel on the X-59. The fuselage is the section of the aircraft that contains the cockpit. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

This is an image of the X-59 inlet with a safety covering. The inlet’s purpose is to adjust air speeds before they pass through the aircraft’s engine. The purpose of the covering is to protect the inlet and engine from foreign objects.

Event: SEG 230 Nose - Craned Onto Tooling A close up of the X-59’s duckbill nose, which is a crucial part of its supersonic design shaping. The team prepares the nose for a fit check. The X-59’s nose is 38-feet long – approximately one third of the length of the entire aircraft. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

This overhead shot of the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology or QueSST aircraft shows the assembly progress of the vehicle during Spring 2021. Pictured here you can see the nose (far left) which will later be mounted to the middle section in the photo known as the fuselage and the last section is the wing and tail in the far right of the photo. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: Manufacture Area From Above Date: 3/30/2021

Pictured here is a side view of the X-59 spine and engine inlet during assembly. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: SEG 210 Forebody, SEG 430 Spine, SEG 500 Empennage Date: 6/08/2021

Technicians are shown here working on the X-59 fuselage section of the aircraft. The fuselage contains the cockpit and helps define the distinct shape of the X-59. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: SEG 210 Forebody-Subsystems Date: 5/12/2021

This image shows a close up of the cockpit view of the eXternal Vision System that will be placed in the X-59. Instead of a front facing window, the pilot will use these monitors for forward facing visibility. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: X-59 SIL Round 2 Date: 6/10/2021

The X-59 sits in the fuel barn at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. While in the fuel barn, the X-59 underwent fuel tank calibration tests. During this phase, the X-59’s gas tanks were filled and fuel-remaining sensors inside the aircraft were checked.

This overview shot of the X-59 Quiet Supersonic Technology or QueSST aircraft shows the vehicle before a major merger of three major aircraft sections – the fuselage, the wing, and the tail assembly – together, making it looks more like an airplane. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: Manufacture Area From Above Date: 3/30/2021

The X-59 is transported to the fuel barn at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas to undergo fuel tank calibration tests. During this phase, the X-59’s gas tanks were filled and fuel-remaining sensors inside the aircraft were checked.

This image shows a close up of the cockpit view of the eXternal Vision System that will be placed in the X-59. Instead of a front facing window, the pilot will use these monitors for forward facing visibility. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: X-59 SIL Round 2 Date: 6/10/2021

A Lockheed Martin Skunk Works technician takes a break for a photo. Note that the technician is wearing protective clean gear while sitting inside the X-59 engine inlet. Wearing this gear reduces the chance of any foreign objects from damaging the engine inlet.

In July 2021, NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana visits Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, California to see the assembly of the X-59 QueSST.

Event: SEG 210 Forebody A Lockheed Martin technician works on the ejection seat support structure and once complete, the ejection seat rails will be installed on the X-59 airplane. The aircraft, under construction at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump.

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at Lockheed Martin’s facility at Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making a startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.

This image shows the X-59 aircraft’s lower empennage structure, or tail section of the plane, that was installed. The stabilators, the outer surfaces also seen in the photo, attach to the lower empennage and are used to help regulate the aircraft pitch which controls the up and down movement of the motion of the plane. The 13-foot engine will pack 22,000 pounds of propulsion and energy and power the X-plane to its planned cruising speed of Mach 1.4. Once complete, the X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. This aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.

Here is a closer view of the X-59 fuselage section of the aircraft during assembly. The fuselage contains the cockpit and helps define the distinct shape of the X-59. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: SEG 210 Forebody-Subsystems Date: 5/12/2021

NASA’s X-59 undergoes a structural stress test at a Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The X-59’s nose makes up one third of the aircraft, at 38-feet in length. The X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane designed to fly at supersonic speeds without making aa startling sonic boom sound for the communities below. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land

Technicians are shown here working on the X-59 fuselage section of the aircraft. The fuselage contains the cockpit and helps define the distinct shape of the X-59. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: SEG 210 Forebody-Subsystems Date: 5/12/2021

A Lockheed Martin technician works to complete wiring on the X-59 aircraft in preparation for the power-on system checkouts. Once complete, the X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. This aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.

Event: Forebody and Nose - Windtunnel Testing A technician works on the X-59 model during testing in the low-speed wind tunnel at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. These tests gave the team measurements of wind flow angle around the aircraft’s nose and confirmed computer predictions made using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software tools. The data will be fed into the aircraft flight control system to tell the pilot the aircraft’s altitude, speed, and angle. This is part of NASA’s Quesst mission which plans to help enable supersonic air travel over land.

This overhead shot of the X-59 assembly during Spring 2021 shows assembly with technicians working at the engine inlet section where the engine will be located on the aircraft. Lockheed Martin Photography By Garry Tice 1011 Lockheed Way, Palmdale, Ca. 93599 Event: Manufacture Area From Above Date: 3/30/2021

A Lockheed Martin Skunk Works technician inspects some of the wiring and sensors on the X-59 aircraft in preparation for the first power-on system checkouts. Once complete, the X-59 aircraft will demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic while reducing the loud sonic boom to a quiet sonic thump and help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land. This aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.