M2F2 lifting body Credit - NASA

The least stable of the lifting body designs. The 'flying bathtub' had a rounded belly / flat top layout as opposed to the flat belly / rounded top of the other designs. The M2-F2 crashed on 10 May 1967, seriously injuring the test pilot (the footage became familiar to millions when it was used in the opening credits of the television series 'The Six Million Dollar Man').

The original M2-F1 was a plywood glider towed from pickup trucks and C-47 transports as part of an 'in house' NASA Edwards project in 1963. The M2-F2 was built by Northrop at the same time as the HL-10 to permit a 'flyoff' of the two competing designs. John Becker at NACA believed the weight savings touted by lifting body advocates were an illusion. His analysis of the Ames M2b showed that it was 360 kg heavier than an equivalent winged design. Despite this, lifting body advocates continued to push their designs until the NASA shuttle design phase, when the same conclusion was reached.

Main Engine: XLR-11. Main Engine Propellants: Lox/Alcohol.

• 1962 September 1 - M2-F1 lifting body first flight. -
  The lifting body concept was first tested at Dryden with a plywood prototype designated the M2-F1 built in late 1962. It featured a plywood shell built by Gus Briegleb, a sailplane builder from Mirage Dry Lake, Calif., placed over a tubular frame built at Dryden. The M2-F1 was towed aloft, first behind an auto and then a C-47 more than 100 times, to validate basic lifting body stability and control characteristics. This led to establishment of the formal program which resulted in the HL-10, M2-F2, M2-F3, X-24A, and X-24B lifting bodies.

• 1966 July 2 - M2 Flight 1 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Thompson.
  First flight M2-F2. Maximum Speed - 727 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 217 sec.

• 1966 July 9 - M2 Flight 2 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Thompson.
  Maximum Speed - 634 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245sec.

• 1966 August 12 - M2 Flight 3 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Thompson.
  Maximum Speed - 656 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 278 sec.

• 1966 August 24 - M2 Flight 4 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Thompson.
  Maximum Speed - 718 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 241 sec.

• 1966 September 2 - M2 Flight 5 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Thompson.
  Maximum Speed - 750 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 226sec.

• 1966 September 16 - M2 Flight 6 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Peterson Bruce.
  360 degree approach. Maximum Speed - 750 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 210 sec.

• 1966 September 20 - M2 Flight 7 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Sorlie.
  Maximum Speed - 677 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 211 sec.

• 1966 September 22 - M2 Flight 8 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Peterson Bruce.
  Maximum Speed - 702 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 233 sec.

• 1966 September 28 - M2 Flight 9 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Sorlie.
  Maximum Speed - 713 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 233 sec.

• 1966 October 5 - M2 Flight 10 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Sorlie.
  Maximum Speed - 713 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 225 sec.

• 1966 October 12 - M2 Flight 11 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Gentry.
  Maximum Speed - 692 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 234 sec.

• 1966 October 26 - M2 Flight 12 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Gentry.
  Maximum Speed - 702 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 227 sec.

• 1966 November 14 - M2 Flight 13 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Gentry.
  Maximum Speed - 642 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 261 sec.

• 1966 November 21 - M2 Flight 14 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Gentry.
  Maximum Speed - 716 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 230 sec.

• 1967 May 2 - M2 Flight 15 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Gentry.
  Maximum Speed - 661 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 231 sec.

• 1967 May 10 - M2 Flight 16 - Program: NASA Lifting Body. Crew: Peterson Bruce.
  Landing accident. Maximum Speed - 648 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 223 sec.