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Stunning Aeronautics Images Gallery

While pursuing NASA's aeronautical research and conducting aircraft operations in support of NASA missions, the routine documentation of that work sometimes results in what can only be described as art. This gallery is home to those aeronautics images we think are among the most beautiful and memorable.

The DC-8 aircraft returned to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California, on April 1, 2024, after...
An aircraft taxis through a water salute streaming from water hoses from two firetrucks positioned on either side of the aircraft. The converging water streams create a rainbow above the aircraft as it passes under the arc of spraying water.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California during sunrise,...
In this photo, NASA’s X-59 aircraft is shown at sunrise at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. Open desert can be seen behind the aircraft. The X-59’s design features a long nose, approximately one-third of the aircraft’s nearly 100-foot length, swept-back wings, and an engine mounted on top and toward the rear of the fuselage.
Before NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft takes to the skies, plenty of testing happens to ensure a safe first flight....
A technician works on the X-59 model during testing in the low-speed wind tunnel.
T-38 planes are a fixture of astronaut training, assisting pilots and mission specialists to think quickly in changing situations. Here,...
NASA T-38s fly in formation above the Space Launch System rocket on Launch Pad 39B.
A technician prepares to unlatch the door built into the guide vanes of the 16-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel at NASA...
Inside the 16-foot transonic wind tunnel with colorful lights from blue, orange, red and green. At the bottom of the image is a technician unlatching the door.
NASA’s DC-8 airborne laboratory is inspected and secured for the night at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida. NASA’s High Ice...
Sunset view of the DC-8 parked on the tarmac is getting inspected.
A drone moves high above downtown Reno, Nevada on the afternoon of June 23, 2019 as part of NASA’s TCL-4...
View of Drone overhead.
While aircraft efficiency has improved over the years, noise continues to be a problem for existing aircraft and will likely...
The visualization is colored by speed, from slower green to faster red air velocities. A strong vortex appears coming off the edge of the landing gear doors. Simulations run on NASA supercomputers at Ames allow researchers to better understand the changes in flow behavior that contribute to airframe noise.
“Armstrong Flight Research Center chief pilot Nils Larson and I were flying supersonic runs to note the handling qualities between...
NASA photographer Carla Thomas in aircraft cockpit during supersonic flight
In an effort to improve fuel efficiency, NASA and the aircraft industry are rethinking aircraft design. Inside the 8’ x...
Inside the 8’ x 6’ wind tunnel at NASA Glenn, engineers recently tested a fan and inlet design, commonly called a propulsor
Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., use all sorts of tools and techniques to learn more during...
Fluorescent oil on a model of a futuristic hybrid wing body during tests in the 14 by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel.
To help develop more efficient rotorcraft designs, engineers need to better understand the complex airflow interactions caused by the spinning...
This visualization shows a pre-test hover simulation of a rotor within the 80x120-ft test section of the NFAC.
This 1992 photo shows an F-16 Scamp model being tested in the Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel or BART, at NASA's...
Model F-16 aircraft inside red wind tunnel with blue horizontal light beams shining from above
Grady McCoy stands in the Langley Research Center's 16 foot transonic tunnel, as light reflects off the fan blades in...
Transonic
A collaborative effort between NASA and Boeing Research and Technology, this test in the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA's...
A scale model of truss-braced wing aircraft is suspended within a wind tunnel for testing.
Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project researchers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center are performing ground testing of a...
Aircraft with large wing and 18 small motors beneath flying through blue sky with streaks of white clouds
In a series of flights between June 1-6, 2021, Stratodynamics Inc. launched its HiDRON stratospheric glider from a high-altitude balloon...
The HiDRON stratospheric glider from Stratodynamics is seen over New Mexico
NASA is preparing to explore electric-powered flight with the X-57 Maxwell, a unique all-electric aircraft which features 14 propellers along...
An image of one of the X-57 Maxwell propellers being tested.
This image of the horizon was seen from the cockpit of NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s F/A-18 research aircraft during...
View within the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s F/A-18 research aircraft cockpit, while in flight.
Cowboy Joe (NACA High-Speed Flight Station test pilot Joseph Walker) and his steed (Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1A) are pictured in...
Test pilot Joe Walker in cowboy hat and boots jumping into the cockpit of an aircraft.
The window in the sidewall of the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel at NASA's Glenn Research Center shows a...
A view from a window looking into the 8- by 6-foot supersonic wind tunnel viewing a model of the future concept supersonic aircraft model.
Though the image above could easily be mistaken as a piece in an art exhibition, it is actually a digital...
A digital rendering of the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing created with computational fluid dynamics.
NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology X-plane is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound without producing sonic booms...
The image shows a moment from a computational fluid dynamics simulation of the X-59 aircraft concept during supersonic flight.
Aerospace Cognitive Engineering Lab Rapid Automation Test Environment (ACELeRATE)
The people observe a large curved screen showing out the window views of San Francisco.
Using the schlieren photography technique, NASA was able to capture the first air-to-air images of the interaction of shockwaves from...
Two U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School T-38 aircraft flying in formation at supersonic speed.
In collaboration with NASA, Pratt & Whitney developed its PurePower family of turbofan engines, which are more fuel-efficient and quieter...
Pratt & Whitney PurePower 1217G Engine
Chevron nozzles—the saw-toothed edges on the back of this jet engine—followed the TRL roadmap and are now seen on engines...
Chevron nozzles—the saw-toothed edges on the back of this jet engine—followed the TRL roadmap and are now seen on engines today.
In this image, a concept for a six-passenger quadcopter is run through a computer simulation to visualize the interaction of...
Concept of 6-passenger quadcopter is run through a computer simulation to visualize the interaction of airflow and the 4 rotors.
Hot summer days in Southern California’s Antelope Valley force many aircraft operations to start early in the morning before the...
NASA Global Hawk is going through testing of its communication components and satellite connection links.
This unique, close-up view of the X-38 under the wing of NASA's B-52 mothership prior to launch of the lifting-body...
A unique, close-up view of the X-38 under the wing of NASA's B-52 mothership.
The nose of an inflatable half-scale model of a NASA F/A-18 in front of the NASA Aeronautics exhibit points skyward...
The nose of an inflatable half-scale model of a NASA F/A-18 in front of the NASA Aeronautics exhibit points skyward toward a bunch of colorful hot air balloons.