Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project recently concluded wind tunnel tests of its X-66 semi-span model in partnership with Boeing. The model, designed to represent half the aircraft, allows the research team to generate high-quality data about the aerodynamic forces that would affect the actual X-66.

Posted February 5, 2025

Ames Research Center

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Artemis

Flight Opportunities Program

Game Changing Development Program

Glenn Research Center

Space Technology Mission Directorate

NASA Tests in Simulated Lunar Gravity to Prep Payloads for Moon

The old saying — “Practice makes perfect!” — applies to the Moon too. On Tuesday, NASA gave 17 technologies, instruments, and experiments the chance to practice being on the Moon… without actually going there. Instead, it was a flight test aboard a vehicle adapted to simulate lunar gravity for approximately two minutes. The test began […]

Posted February 4, 2025

Earth Science

Airborne Science

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Earth

Earth Science Division

NASA Radar Imagery Reveals Details About Los Angeles-Area Landslides

Analysis of data from NASA radar aboard an airplane shows that the decades-old active landslide area on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has expanded.

Posted January 31, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Advanced Air Mobility

Aeronautics

Air Mobility Pathfinders project

Airspace Operations and Safety Program

Ames Research Center

Glenn Research Center

Langley Research Center

NASA Tests Air Traffic Surveillance Technology Using Its Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft

As air taxis, drones, and other innovative aircraft enter U.S. airspace, systems that communicate an aircraft’s location will be critical to ensure air traffic safety.

Posted January 23, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Advanced Air Mobility

Ames Research Center

Drones & You

Flight Innovation

Glenn Research Center

Langley Research Center

SBIR STTR

NASA Small Business Funding Enables Aircraft Inspection by Drone

A small business called Near Earth Autonomy developed a time-saving solution using drones for pre-flight checks of commercial airliners through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and a partnership with The Boeing Company.

Posted January 13, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Helicopter Removes Artifact from NASA Armstrong Rooftop

What do the X-15 and the space shuttles have in common? Information from the rocket plane and the spacecraft, as well as many experimental aircraft, were tracked from a pedestal and telemetry dish during key eras in flight history at or near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. When the NASA facility’s administration […]

Posted January 9, 2025

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Advanced Air Mobility

Aeronautics

C-20A

DC-8

Earth Science

ER-2

Flight Opportunities Program

Quesst (X-59)

Sustainable Flight Demonstrator

2024: NASA Armstrong Prepares for Future Innovative Research Efforts

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is preparing today for tomorrow’s mission. Supersonic flight, next generation aircraft, advanced air mobility, climate changes, human exploration of space, and the next innovation are just some of the topics our researchers, engineers, and mission support teams focused on in 2024.

Posted December 20, 2024

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Commercial Supersonic Technology

Integrated Aviation Systems Program

Low Boom Flight Demonstrator

Quesst (X-59)

Supersonic Flight

NASA Runs X-59 Engine with Maximum Afterburner for First Time

NASA completed the first maximum afterburner engine run test on its X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on Dec. 12. The ground test, conducted at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, marks a significant milestone as the X-59 team progresses toward flight.

Posted December 20, 2024

Aeronautics

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Center Innovation Fund

Flight Innovation

Atmospheric Probe Takes Flight

On Oct. 22, 2024, the latest iteration of an atmospheric probe developed by researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, successfully completed a test flight.

Posted December 13, 2024

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Aeronautics

Center Innovation Fund

Flight Innovation

Space Technology Mission Directorate

Atmospheric Probe Shows Promise in Test Flight

The most effective way to prove a new idea is to start small, test, learn, and test again. A team of researchers developing an atmospheric probe at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are taking that approach. The concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data […]

Posted December 11, 2024