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NASA Aircraft Gallery

Aircraft of every type, size, and purpose have contributed to aviation history as part of the many research and operational missions. flown by NASA and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. A sampling of those is presented here.

Straight wings, a Y-tail and a pusher propeller distinguish NASA's Ikhana, a civil version of General Atomics Aeronautical system's Predator...
NASA's historic B-52 mother ship carried the X-43A and its Pegasus booster rocket on a captive carry flight from Edwards...
X-43A Hypersonic Experimental Vehicle mounted onto a B-52.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Systems Research Aircraft (SRA), a highly modified F-18 jet fighter, during a research flight....
F-18 jet fighter in flight in California.
A joint NASA/Boeing team completed the first phase of flight tests on the unique X-48B Blended Wing Body aircraft at...
A joint NASA/Boeing team completed the first phase of flight tests on March 19, 2010.
S77-28138 (13 Sept 1977) --- The shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" makes a slight turn and bank maneuver during the second...
The Enterprise orbiter banks during the second free flight over the desert of Southern California.
The second X-43A hypersonic research aircraft, attached to a modified Pegasus booster rocket and followed by a chase F-18, was...
The space shuttle Discovery atop NASA's modified 747 is captured over the Mojave Desert while being ferried from NASA Dryden...
NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft No. 911, with the space shuttle orbiter Endeavour securely mounted atop its fuselage, begins the...
This view from above shows the vertical tail loads testing on a Navy F/A-18E that concluded in May, wrapping up...
NASA's Super Guppy aircraft arrives at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 10. The specialized aircraft can...
NASA's Super Guppy aircraft arrives at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 10.
Air Force Major William J. “Pete” Knight in his full-pressure flight suit, kneeling in front of X-15 no. 2 on...
December 3, 1968
Joby’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is pictured at the company's Electric Flight Base, located near Big Sur,...
Joby’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is pictured at the company's Electric Flight Base, located near Big Sur, California.
Helping make the battle against wildfires faster, safer, and more targeted, a NASA project recently tested its tools in a...
A drone flies in the foreground while a person wearing a hat, sunglasses, and yellow safety vest pilots the drone in the background, with a forest behind.
In this artist's concept, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface as NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover...
In this illustration, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the Red Planet's surface
DC-8 lifts off from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif.
NASA’s DC-8 aircraft flies low over urban places to collect data on air quality
NASA's DC-8 flying science laboratory is seen in this photo illustration in which the sky has been replaced.
Photo composite showing NASA's 4-engine DC-8 jet flying through a simulated sky.
Take a moment and just stare at this beautiful airplane. Whether or not you have an interest in aeronautics or...
NASA's F/A-18 taking off.
The X-31 completed its final research flight of 555 for the program.
May 13, 1995
NASA’s Ikhana aircraft, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, takes off on June 12, 2018,...
Ikhana taking off on June 12 flight.
The X-56A is scheduled for November flights to further investigate how highly-flexible, lightweight wings function.
X-56A in flight.
Grumman manufactured two airframes. They flew a total of 437 flights between 1984-1992. On Dec. 13, 1985, the X-29 became...
Smoke generators in the nose of the X-29 were used to help researchers see the behavior of the air flowing over the aircraft.
The D-558-I "Skystreaks" were among the early transonic research airplanes like the X-1, X-4, X-5, and XF-92A.
D-558-I is on the ramp at South Base, Edwards Air Force Base with three crew members.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, used an F-18 Hornet fighter aircraft as its High Angle-of-Attack (Alpha) Research Vehicle...
Flow visualization smoke marks vortex flows along the leading edge extension on an F/A-18
A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and...
NASA GL-10 takeoff
From mid-1979 to January 1983, two remotely piloted, experimental Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology (HiMAT) vehicles were used at the NASA...
HIMAT in flight.
The second generation X-1s used the same wing, horizontal tail, and XLR-11 rocket engine as the first generation aircraft, with...
X-1B on lakebed.
NASA's green aviation project is one step closer to developing technology that could make future airliners quieter and more fuel-efficient...
Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flight test of aircraft with flexible, trailing-edge wing flaps.
The B-70 Valkyrie, with a planned cruise speed of Mach 3 and operating altitude of 70,000 feet, was to be...
XB-70 taking off.
This flight is part of an ongoing series of flights which define and demonstrate the satellite communication (SATCOM) capabilities of...
NASA Viking Aircraft Soars Over Cleveland Skyline
The wingless, lifting body aircraft sitting on Rogers Dry Lake at what is now NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,...
Three Lifting Bodies on Lakebed
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43...
Helios Prototype Flying Wing
The unique XV-15 Tiltrotor aircraft is seen in vertical flight at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
Bell XV-15 Tiltrotor