DRYDEN HISTORICAL MILESTONE: 1970s LIFTING BODY RESEARCH CONTRIBUTED TO SHUTTLE, X-33 DESIGN August 26, 1996 Release: 96-38 Printer Friendly Version
Between 1963 to 1975 a fleet of "lifting bodies" flown at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., demonstrated the ability of pilots to maneuver and safely land wingless vehicles designed to fly back to Earth from space and land like aircraft.
The rocket-powered M2-F3 lifting body, pictured here during an August 9, 1971, flight, was mounted on and dropped from a B-52 wing pylon. On August 25, 1971, the craft made its first supersonic flight, attaining Mach 1.1 at the hands of Dryden test pilot Bill Dana, who was recently honored by the Experimental Aircraft Association for his work with aerospacecraft including both the lifting bodies and the X-15.
Data from each lifting body configuration contributed to the development of the space shuttle design and helped produce energy management and landing techniques used today during each shuttle flight. In addition, Lockheed Martin1s design for the X-33 test vehicle, a one-half scale model of the next generation Reusable Launch Vehicle, is based on a lifting body design. The wingless, rocket-engine-powered, X-33 will land horizontally like an airplane, just like the lifting bodies.
NASA Dryden is celebrating its 50th year as the nation's pre-eminent flight research facility. The Center enjoys ideal weather for flight research and is located at the southern end of a 500-mile, high speed flight corridor. Situated adjacent to Rogers Dry Lake, a 44-square-mile natural surface for landing, Dryden is located in an isolated area suited NASA's Aeronautics Enterprise, and it1s the "Center of Excellence" for atmospheric flight operations.
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