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NASA Aircraft

NASA 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.

NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is seen fully assembled and painted on the ramp at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works...

👁 NASA's X-59 sits parked outside its hangar.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above Palmdale and Edwards, California, during its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025,...

👁 NASA’s X-59 flies above the Mojave Desert with a NASA F/A-18 chase aircraft nearby.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force...

👁 NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off from the runway at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Its wheels are just slightly off the runway. Heat waves are visible off the back of the aircraft as it ascends under a clear sky. Rows of Joshua trees stretch toward the mountains in the background.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force...

👁 NASA’s X-59 flies above the Mojave Desert against a blue sky. Its long nose points slightly upward to the right, with the landing gear down. The aircraft is side-lit, with layered mountains visible in the background during its ferry to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

The X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft arrives at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, following its first flight...

👁 The X-59 pulls onto the ramp at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. In front of the aircraft, the crew chief stands with arms raised to guide it in, while another flight crew member stands beside the aircraft. An audience is visible in the background near a large hangar.

NASA's WB-57 aircraft flying in formation over Houston and JSC, photographed from a Navy T-6 aircraft. Photo Date: November 19,...

👁 NASA's WB-57 aircraft flying in formation over Houston and JSC, photographed from a Navy T-6 aircraft

NASA’s X-59 complements the glow of the sky at dusk with its unique Mach diamonds, also known as shock diamonds,...

👁 NASA’s X-59 sits partially in a white hangar and emits bright flames with visible shock diamonds from its engine at sunset during maximum afterburner testing outside Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works Facility in Palmdale, California.

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s ER-2 aircraft lifts off from Edwards, California, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in support of...

👁 A NASA ER-2 aircraft takes off from Armstrong Flight Research Center with the control tower in view.

NASA Armstrong’s ER-2 aircraft deploys for its ALOFT mission. The ER-2 will fly at high altitudes above the Floridian coastline...

The Dash 7 aircraft that will be modified into a hybrid electric research vehicle under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration...

👁 A four-engine turboprop aircraft in a red and white livery takes off from a runway on its way to be modified into a hybrid electric aircraft. Other airplanes can be seen in the distance.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits on the ramp at sunrise before ground tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works...

👁 NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is seen on the ramp at sunrise with its canopy open. Orange and gold light filters through the clouds behind the aircraft, highlighting the aircraft’s shape. Several ground crew members are visible around the aircraft, along with support carts. A vertical light pole with a coiled cable can be seen in the foreground.

Left to right: workhorse F-15B #836, "Mr. Bones" F-15D #884, and "2nd to None" F-15D #897 on the back ramp...

👁 Against a clear sky, the vertical tail fins of three F-15 jets used as NASA Aircraft are seen, some displaying a NASA logo.

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.

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

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.

The long-retired X-1E rocket plane sits on display in front of the original office complex at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research...

👁 The X-1E rocket plane sits on a pedestal stand in front of the main entrance to an office building.

The Bell X-1 that was flown on the historic supersonic flight on Oct. 14, 1947, is seen on public display...

👁 The Bell X-1 suspended from the ceiling of the National Air and Space Museum's main gallery in Washington, DC.

The supersonic X-1E research aircraft was the last of NASA's experimental X-1 series of aircraft. From 1955-1958, it made 26...

👁 The X-1E aircraft dominates the foreground of this photo. It is white, with its designation written on its side in big orange letters. The Moon is in the background, lined up with the nose of the airplane.

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.

This modified Northrop F-5E jet was used during 2003 for NASA's Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration program, a successful effort to...

👁 Shape of Things to Come

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.

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.