North American F-100-F airplane, equipped with thrust reversers, full scale wind tunnel test. 3/4 front view of F-100-F airplane with North American Aviation thrust reverser. On standard 40x80 struts landing gear down. Mark Kelly, branch chief in photo.

North American Aviation F-100 in the Ames 40x80 Foot Wind Tunnel.

North American Space Shuttle Orbiter Model NA129 surface heating and boundary layer transition test in 3.5ft w.t.

Cutaway drawing of the North American X-15

Three view art of the North American X-15

This is a photograph of Dr. von Braun, taken in 1961, visiting North American Aviation's Space and Information Systems Division in Downey, California.

Wernher von Braun

North American X-15 Drop Model

Wernher von Braun

iss058e013234 (Feb. 13, 2019) --- The International Space Station was flying 256 miles above Canada when an Expedition 58 crew member, looking north to south, photographed Lake Superior and Lake Michigan surrounded by the cloudy and frozen terrain of the North American continent.

Lake Superior and Lake Michigan surrounded by the cloudy and frozen terrain of the North American continent.

North American X-15 model tested in 300MPH Low Speed 7x10 Tunnel

A one-twentieth scale model of the X-15 originally suspended beneath the wing of a B-52 is observed by a scientist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as it leaves the bomber model in tests to determine the release characteristics and drop motion of the research airplane. Caption: The aerodynamics of air launching the North American X-15 being investigated in the 300MPH Low Speed 7x10 Tunnel, about 1957. Photograph published in Engineer in Charge: A History of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958 by James R. Hansen. Page 366. Photograph also published in Sixty Years of Aeronautical Research 1917-1977 By David A. Anderton. A NASA publication. Page 49.

North American X-15 model tested in 300MPH Low Speed 7x10 Tunnel

A one-twentieth scale model of the X-15 originally suspended beneath the wing of a B-52 is observed by a scientist of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as it leaves the bomber model in tests to determine the release characteristics and drop motion of the research airplane. Caption: The aerodynamics of air launching the North American X-15 being investigated in the 300MPH Low Speed 7x10 Tunnel, about 1957. Photograph published in Engineer in Charge: A History of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958 by James R. Hansen. Page 366. Photograph also published in Sixty Years of Aeronautical Research 1917-1977 By David A. Anderton. A NASA publication. Page 49.

X-15 Configurations

This scale-model of North American's initial X-15 design was tested in North American and NACA wind tunnels note the conventional tail and fuselage side-tunnels that extend far toward the aircraft nose. North American engineers would determine that the variable wedge-angle stabilizer created a weight issue, and aeronautical testing by Langley engineers confirmed that the side-tunnels made the design less stable.

X-15 Configurations

This scale-model of North American's initial X-15 design was tested in North American and NACA wind tunnels note the conventional tail and fuselage side-tunnels that extend far toward the aircraft nose. North American engineers would determine that the variable wedge-angle stabilizer created a weight issue, and aeronautical testing by Langley engineers confirmed that the side-tunnels made the design less stable.

North American F-100 C

North American X-15 Model being readied for tests in Langley Unitary Plan

North American XF-82 Twin Mustang Prepares for Ramjet Test Flight

Pilot William Swann, right cockpit, prepares the North American XF-82 Twin Mustang for flight at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The aircraft was one of only two prototypes built by North American in October 1945 and powered by Packard Merlin V-1650 piston engines. Over 270 of the F-82 long-distance pursuit fighters were produced during the 1940s. The Mustang’s unique two-pilot configuration allowed one pilot to rest during the long missions and thus be ready for action upon arrival. The NACA took possession of this XF-82 in October 1947. NACA Lewis used the XF-82 as a test bed for ramjet flight tests. Ramjets are continually burning tubes that use the compressed atmospheric air to produce thrust. Ramjets are extremely efficient at high speeds, but rely on some sort of booster to attain that high speed. NACA Lewis undertook an extensive ramjet program in the 1940s that included combustion studies in the Altitude Wind Tunnel, a number of flight tests, and missile drops from aircraft. The 16-inch diameter ramjet missile was fixed to the XF-82 Mustang’s wing and dropped from high altitudes off of Wallops Island. The tests determined the ramjet’s performance and operational characteristics in the transonic range.

NASA Terra spacecraft captured this image of the Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma. The Ouachitas are fold mountains, formed about 300 million years ago when the South American Plate drifted northward, colliding with the North American Plate.

Ouachita Mtns., Oklahoma

North American AJ-2 Savage used for Microgravity Flights

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center acquired two North American AJ-2 Savages in the early 1960s to fly microgravity-inducing parabola flight patterns. Lewis was in the midst of an extensive study to determine the behavior of liquid hydrogen in microgravity so that proper fuel systems could be designed. Jack Enders was the primary pilot for the program and future astronaut Fred Haise worked with the cameras and instrumentation in the rear of the aircraft. North American developed the AJ-2 for the Navy in the mid-1940s as a carrier-based bomber. By the 1960s the Savage was no longer considered a modern aircraft, but its performance capabilities made it appealing to the Lewis researchers. The AJ-2 ‘s power, speed, response time, structural robustness, and large interior space were applicable to the microgravity flights. The AJ-2 could also accommodate a pilot, flight engineer, and two observers. Lewis engineers installed a 100-litre liquid hydrogen dewar, cryogenic cooling system, and cameras in the bomb bay. The AJ-2 was flown on a level course over western Lake Erie then went into a 20-degree dip to generate 375 knot. At 13,000 feet the pilot pulled the nose up by 40 degrees. The speed decreased and both latitudinal and longitudinal accelerations were nullified. Upon reaching 17,000 feet, the pilot turned the aircraft into a 45-degree dive. As the speed reached 390 knots the pilot pulled the aircraft up again. Each maneuver produced approximately 27 seconds of microgravity.

Prime Crew - Apollo/Saturn (A/S) Mission 204 - North American Aviation (NAA), Inc., CA

S66-49181 (August 1966) --- The three crew members for the Apollo-Saturn 204 (AS-204) mission check out the couch installation on the Apollo Command Module (CM) at North American's Downey facility. Left to right in their pressurized space suits are astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Roger B. Chaffee and Edward H. White II. Editor's Note: The three astronauts died in a fire on the launch pad, Jan. 27, 1967.

This MOC image shows an impact crater on the martian northern plains. This crater is roughly the size of the famous Meteor Crater in Arizona on the North American continent

Slam!

Partial Solar Eclipse in New Orleans

Under mostly overcast skies, the Moon passes in front of the Sun as a partial solar eclipse approaches 85% in New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, on Monday, April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse tracked along a narrow strip of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent as well as parts of Europe and Central America. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

Partial Solar Eclipse in New Orleans

Under mostly overcast skies, the Moon passes in front of the Sun as a partial solar eclipse approaches 85% in New Orleans, home of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, on Monday, April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse tracked along a narrow strip of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent as well as parts of Europe and Central America. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker

The frozen terrain of Anticosti Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

This image from NASA Terra spacecraft shows where a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in Mexico Baja, California at shallow depth along the principal plate boundary between the North American and Pacific plates on April 4, 2010.

NASA Satellite Imagery Shows Sparse Population of Region Near Baja, California Earthquake

California topography poses challenges for road builders. Northwest of Los Angeles, deformation of Earth crust along the Pacific-North American crustal plate boundary has made transportation difficult.

SRTM Stereo Pair with Landsat Overlay: Los Angeles to San Joaquin Valley, California

A-5A on lakebed.

A North American Aviation A-5A Vigilante (Navy serial number 147858/NASA tail number 858) arrived from the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD, on December 19, 1962, at the NASA Flight Research Center (now, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA). The Center flew the A-5A in a year-long series of flights in support of the U.S. supersonic transport program. The Center flew the aircraft to determine the let-down and approach conditions of a supersonic transport flying into a dense air traffic network. With the completion of the research flights, the Center sent the A-5A back to the Navy on December 20, 1963.

A-5A on lakebed.

A North American Aviation A-5A Vigilante (Navy serial number 147858/NASA tail number 858) arrived from the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD, on December 19, 1962, at the NASA Flight Research Center (now, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA). The Center flew the A-5A in a year-long series of flights in support of the U.S. supersonic transport program. The Center flew the aircraft to determine the let-down and approach conditions of a supersonic transport flying into a dense air traffic network. With the completion of the research flights, the Center sent the A-5A back to the Navy on December 20, 1963.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - During their tour of KSC, members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly get a close look at wheels used on an orbiter. The Parliamentarians are meeting in Orlando this year for their 49th annual gathering. They chose to visit KSC with their families during their one-day excursion break from meetings.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly visit the Vehicle Assembly Building during their tour of KSC. The Parliamentarians are meeting in Orlando this year for their 49th annual gathering. They chose to visit KSC with their families during their one-day excursion break from meetings.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - After their tour of KSC, members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly board their tour bus to return to Orlando. The Parliamentarians are meeting in Orlando this year for their 49th annual gathering. They chose to visit KSC with their families during their one-day excursion break from meetings.