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Hangar 703 at Drydens Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale CA.
Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility

Dryden's Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale offers the expanded space needed to manage the Center's airborne science missions and research platforms.

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X-15 in flight
This Week in Dryden's History

A collection of historical facts and events from Dryden's last 50 years.

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Careers at Dryden

Join the excitement! Be a part of the Dryden team.

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DFRC Tour Information

Instructions for booking group and individual tours of Dryden Flight Research Center

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DFRC Severe Weather Instructions

Employee procedures for determining if Dryden is open for a normal workday during severe weather conditions.

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News

    SOFIA Flight Tests Leading to Early Science Missions

    NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy accompanied by a NASA F/A-18 safety chase aircraft. Sandwiched between the deep blue of the high-altitude sky and the Southern California mountains, NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy accompanied by a NASA F/A-18 safety chase aircraft pass in review during a test flight. When flight tests are completed, the SOFIA will be a fully capable observatory cleared for astronomical science missions at up to 45,000 feet altitude. (NASA photo / Jim Ross)
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    › SOFIA Photo Gallery
    › 'SOFIA Flight Tests for Early Science Progress' video



    City Officials Receive Palmdale Flag Flown on STS-132 Shuttle Mission

    A Palmdale municipal flag that was flown on space shuttle Atlantis during the recent STS-132 shuttle mission was presented to officials of the City of Palmdale, Calif. A Palmdale municipal flag that was flown on space shuttle Atlantis during the recent STS-132 shuttle mission was presented to officials of the City of Palmdale, Calif., at a brief ceremony July 29. A plaque depicting highlights of the STS-132 mission and the flag will be hung in a city facility for public viewing. Participating in the presentation during a Thursday Night on the Square program at Poncitlan Square in the Palmdale Civic Center were (from left), state assemblyman Steve Knight, Russ Billings of the AERO Institute (in simulated space suit), Palmdale Mayor James Ledford, retired NASA astronaut Vance Brand, Palmdale city councilman Steve Hofbauer and George Grimshaw, manager of space shuttle support operations at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. (NASA photo / Jim Ross)

Latest News

Dryden Hosts Airborne Research Experience

Teachers and project officials gathered under the UAVSAR pod mounted underneath the aircraft.

Enthusiastic Southern California teachers participated in NASA's Airborne Research Experiences for Educators and Students program.

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Students Immersed in Student Airborne Research Program

The waters of Monterey Bay appeared a deep blue from two miles up during the Student Airborne Research Program flight by NASA's DC-8 flying science laboratory.

Twenty-eight undergraduate and graduate college students from 22 colleges and universities are participating in the six-week NASA-NSERC Student Airborne Research Program that is giving them ...

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› DC-8 Photo Gallery
› More on NASA's DC-8

Massachusetts Students Experience NASA Airborne Study

Brigitte Berman, a junior at Southfield School in Brookline, Mass., found being part of the science team on NASA's recent Hayabusa spacecraft re-entry imaging mission to be really, really fun.

Three Massachusetts high school students began their summer with a journey halfway around the world to participate in a NASA mission that imaged a Japanese spacecraft's fiery return to Earth.

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› DC-8 Photos
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› More on Hayabusa

News and Features

Dryden Spotlight

  • SOFIA landing in Palmdale

    SOFIA

    NASA is developing the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - or SOFIA - as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes and major Earth-based telescopes.
    › Mission Status

  • Snowy DC-8 takeoff

    Hayabusa Re-entry Observation Mission

    Scientists from NASA, JAXA and other organizations flew to Australia to record the fiery descent of Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft through Earth's atmosphere.

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    › Feature
    › Video
  • Orion AFT logo

    Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

    NASA Dryden is leading the Orion crew module launch abort system flight test effort, including crew module systems integration for the first two flights.

    › Orion Fact Sheet
    › Orion Photos
    › Orion Movies  →
    › Orion Status Report
  • GloPac mission logo

    GloPac

    The NASA Global Hawk Pacific, or GloPac, campaign is the first Earth Science mission to be conducted on the aircraft.

  • X-48B Blended Wing Body on lakebed

    Research Update

    Current flight research projects and programs being flown at Dryden Flight Research Center.

  • X-15

    X-15 Interactive Feature

    The sensational, iconic, and groundbreaking X-15 hypersonic research aircraft extended flight to the edge of space during the 1950s and 1960s.

  • cover of aerovations magazine

    Aerovations

    The Innovative Partnerships Program acts as a pathfinder and an agent of change for new technology development through partnerships with small businesses and research institutions.

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