6 million views!...Thank you all
And to celebrate the event, here displayed in
Washington DC's Air & Space Museum is one of NASA's Lifting Bodies - the Northrop M2-F2, NASA803, designed and built to test 're-entry' aero-dynamic designs during NASA's Space program.
The connection??
If you're old enough to remember the TV series 'The Six Million Dollar Man' - it's one of these that 'Steve Austin' crashed in during the intro sequence.
Taken from real footage you can see it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoLs0V8T5AA
These 'wingless' craft were hung below the wing of their 'Mother-ship', a NASA NB-52 and after being airlifted to a great height, released to test their flying characteristics as they made the 'brick-like' descent back down to Earth.
Their shape generated just enough lift to make a controlled landing on the giant desert complex at Edwards AFB, California.
Several different designs were constructed and tested over a period in the 1960's with much of the knowledge applied to the later Space Shuttle program.
In the sequence in the link, the pilot did survive but with life changing injuries
See the full story here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2
and some better footage here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=50dDWT48b9M
Scanned Kodak 35mm Transparency
6 million views!...Thank you all
And to celebrate the event, here displayed in
Washington DC's Air & Space Museum is one of NASA's Lifting Bodies - the Northrop M2-F2, NASA803, designed and built to test 're-entry' aero-dynamic designs during NASA's Space program.
The connection??
If you're old enough to remember the TV series 'The Six Million Dollar Man' - it's one of these that 'Steve Austin' crashed in during the intro sequence.
Taken from real footage you can see it here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoLs0V8T5AA
These 'wingless' craft were hung below the wing of their 'Mother-ship', a NASA NB-52 and after being airlifted to a great height, released to test their flying characteristics as they made the 'brick-like' descent back down to Earth.
Their shape generated just enough lift to make a controlled landing on the giant desert complex at Edwards AFB, California.
Several different designs were constructed and tested over a period in the 1960's with much of the knowledge applied to the later Space Shuttle program.
In the sequence in the link, the pilot did survive but with life changing injuries
See the full story here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2
and some better footage here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=50dDWT48b9M
Scanned Kodak 35mm Transparency