NASA Lifting Body
HL-10 Lifting Body
Credit - NASA
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Program: NASA Lifting Body. Objective: Manned. Type: Spaceplane. NASA's Ames Research Center and Langley had promoted the idea of 'lifting bodies', rounded half-cones, for use as manned recoverable spacecraft. These provided lift for maneuver and recovery at an airfield after re-entry from orbit. 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. Results were encouraging, and NASA contracted Northrop to build, at cut-rate prices, two rocket-powered lifting bodies that would be air-dropped from a B-52 bomber to explore the handling qualities of the two competing configurations. The M2-F2 was a 'flying bathtub' with a rounded belly / flat top layout. 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 crashed M2-F2 was rebuilt as the M2-F3 with enlarged vertical stabilizers. Maximum speed achieved was Mach 1.6, top altitude 21,800 m. The final X-30 National Aerospace Plane configuration seemed to owe much to the M2.

The HL-10, with a flat bottom and rounded dorsal body, was the favored lifting body configuration of NASA Langley. It reached Mach 1.86 and 27,700 m during its flight test. This configuration was found to be the best of the lifting bodies, and it was used in several of the orbiter proposals in NASA's Phase A and Phase B shuttle design studies. It is also very similar to the winning X-33 configuration proposed by the Lockheed. Purportedly an unmanned test vehicle of this design was tested at orbital speeds by the US Air Force in a black Lockheed Skunk Work's project, possibly on two Titan 3B / Agena D launches in 1972.

Major Events:

  • 1966 July 2 - M2 Flight 1.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    First flight M2-F2. Maximum Speed - 727 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 217 sec.

  • 1966 July 9 - M2 Flight 2.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 634 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245sec.

  • 1966 August 12 - M2 Flight 3.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 656 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 278 sec.

  • 1966 August 24 - M2 Flight 4.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 718 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 241 sec.

  • 1966 September 2 - M2 Flight 5.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 750 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 226sec.

  • 1966 September 16 - M2 Flight 6.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    360 degree approach. Maximum Speed - 750 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 210 sec.

  • 1966 September 20 - M2 Flight 7.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 677 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 211 sec.

  • 1966 September 22 - M2 Flight 8.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 702 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 233 sec.

  • 1966 September 28 - M2 Flight 9.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 713 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 233 sec.

  • 1966 October 5 - M2 Flight 10.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 713 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 225 sec.

  • 1966 October 12 - M2 Flight 11.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 692 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 234 sec.

  • 1966 October 26 - M2 Flight 12.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 702 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 227 sec.

  • 1966 November 14 - M2 Flight 13.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 642 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 261 sec.

  • 1966 November 21 - M2 Flight 14.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 716 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 230 sec.

  • 1966 December 22 - HL-10 Flight 1.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    First flight HL-10. Maximum Speed - 735 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 187 sec.

  • 1967 May 2 - M2 Flight 15.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Maximum Speed - 661 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 231 sec.

  • 1967 May 10 - M2 Flight 16.  Spacecraft: M2-F2.

    Landing accident. Maximum Speed - 648 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 223 sec.

  • 1968 March 15 - HL-10 Flight 2.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 684 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 243 sec.

  • 1968 April 3 - HL-10 Flight 3.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 732 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 242 sec.

  • 1968 April 25 - HL-10 Flight 4.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 739 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 258 sec.

  • 1968 May 3 - HL-10 Flight 5.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 732 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec.

  • 1968 May 16 - HL-10 Flight 6.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 719 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 265 sec.

  • 1968 May 28 - HL-10 Flight 7.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 698 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec.

  • 1968 June 11 - HL-10 Flight 8.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 697 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 246 sec.

  • 1968 June 21 - HL-10 Flight 9.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 681 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 271 sec.

  • 1968 September 24 - HL-10 Flight 10.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    XLR-11 engine installed. Maximum Speed - 722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec.

  • 1968 October 3 - HL-10 Flight 11.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 758 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 243 sec.

  • 1968 October 23 - HL-10 Flight 12.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    First powered flight. Premature shutdown. Maximum Speed - 722 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12100 m. Flight Time - 189 sec.

  • 1968 November 13 - HL-10 Flight 13.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers, 186-sec powered flight. Maximum Speed - 843 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13000 m. Flight Time - 385 sec.

  • 1968 December 9 - HL-10 Flight 14.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 872 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14450 m. Flight Time - 394 sec.

  • 1969 April 17 - HL-10 Flight 15.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    3 chambers. Maximum Speed - 973 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16070 m. Flight Time - 400 sec.

  • 1969 April 25 - HL-10 Flight 16.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Glide. Maximum Speed - 743 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 252 sec.

  • 1969 May 9 - HL-10 Flight 17.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    3 chambers, first supersonic. Maximum Speed - 1197 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16250 m. Flight Time - 410 sec.

  • 1969 May 20 - HL-10 Flight 18.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 959 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14970 m. Flight Time - 414 sec.

  • 1969 May 28 - HL-10 Flight 19.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1311 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18960 m. Flight Time - 398 sec.

  • 1969 June 6 - HL-10 Flight 20.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Glide. Maximum Speed - 1483 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19540 m. Flight Time - 231 sec.

  • 1969 June 19 - HL-10 Flight 21.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1483 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19540 m. Flight Time - 378 sec.

  • 1969 June 23 - HL-10 Flight 22.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1350 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19450 m. Flight Time - 373 sec.

  • 1969 August 6 - HL-10 Flight 23.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    First 4-chambered flight. Maximum Speed - 1641 kph. Maximum Altitude - 23190 m. Flight Time - 372 sec.

  • 1969 September 3 - HL-10 Flight 24.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    4 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1541 kph. Maximum Altitude - 23760 m. Flight Time - 414 sec.

  • 1969 September 18 - HL-10 Flight 25.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    4 chambers. Maximum Speed - 1340 kph. Maximum Altitude - 24140 m. Flight Time - 426 sec.

  • 1969 September 30 - HL-10 Flight 26.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    2 chambers. Maximum Speed - 780 kph. Maximum Altitude - 16380 m. Flight Time - 436 sec.

  • 1969 October 27 - HL-10 Flight 27.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1675 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18470 m. Flight Time - 417 sec.

  • 1969 November 3 - HL-10 Flight 28.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1482kph. Maximum Altitude - 19540 m. Flight Time - 439 sec.

  • 1969 November 17 - HL-10 Flight 29.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1693 kph. Maximum Altitude - 19690 m. Flight Time - 408 sec.

  • 1969 November 21 - HL-10 Flight 30.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1532 kph. Maximum Altitude - 24160 m. Flight Time - 378 sec.

  • 1969 December 12 - HL-10 Flight 31.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1401 kph. Maximum Altitude - 24370 m. Flight Time - 428 sec.

  • 1970 January 19 - HL-10 Flight 32.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1398 kph. Maximum Altitude - 26410 m. Flight Time - 410 sec.

  • 1970 January 26 - HL-10 Flight 33.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 1443 kph. Maximum Altitude - 26730 m. Flight Time - 411 sec.

  • 1970 February 18 - HL-10 Flight 34.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum speed. Maximum Speed - 1976 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20520 m. Flight Time - 380 sec.

  • 1970 February 27 - HL-10 Flight 35.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum altitude. Maximum Speed - 1400 kph. Maximum Altitude - 27524 m. Flight Time - 416 sec.

  • 1970 June 2 - M2 Flight 17.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    First M2-F3 flight. Maximum Speed - 755 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 218 sec.

  • 1970 June 11 - HL-10 Flight 36.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Glide landing study. Maximum Speed - 809 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 202 sec.

  • 1970 July 17 - HL-10 Flight 37.  Spacecraft: HL-10.

    Maximum Speed - 803 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 252 sec.

  • 1970 July 21 - M2 Flight 18.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 708 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 228 sec.

  • 1970 November 2 - M2 Flight 19.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 690 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 236 sec.

  • 1970 November 25 - M2 Flight 20.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    First powered flight. Maximum Speed - 859 kph. Maximum Altitude - 15819 m. Flight Time - 377 sec.

  • 1971 February 9 - M2 Flight 21.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 755 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 241 sec.

  • 1971 February 26 - M2 Flight 22.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 821 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 348 sec.

  • 1971 July 23 - M2 Flight 23.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 788 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18440 m. Flight Time - 353 sec.

  • 1971 August 9 - M2 Flight 24.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1035 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18898 m. Flight Time - 415 sec.

  • 1971 August 25 - M2 Flight 25.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    First M2-F3 supersonic flight. Maximum Speed - 1163 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20513 m. Flight Time - 390 sec.

  • 1971 September 24 - M2 Flight 26.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 772 kph. Maximum Altitude - 12802 m. Flight Time - 210 sec.

  • 1971 November 15 - M2 Flight 27.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Glide flight. Maximum Speed - 784 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13716 m. Flight Time - 215 sec.

  • 1971 December 1 - M2 Flight 28.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1356 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21580 m. Flight Time - 391 sec.

  • 1971 December 16 - M2 Flight 29.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 861 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14265 m. Flight Time - 451 sec.

  • 1972 July 25 - M2 Flight 30.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1049 kph. Maximum Altitude - 18562 m. Flight Time - 420 sec.

  • 1972 August 11 - M2 Flight 31.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1168 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20480 m. Flight Time - 375 sec.

  • 1972 August 24 - M2 Flight 32.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1344 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20330 m. Flight Time - 376 sec.

  • 1972 September 12 - M2 Flight 33.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 935 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14020 m. Flight Time - 387 sec.

  • 1972 September 27 - M2 Flight 34.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1424 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20330 m. Flight Time - 366.5 sec.

  • 1972 October 5 - M2 Flight 35.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1455 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20210 m. Flight Time - 376 sec.

  • 1972 October 19 - M2 Flight 36.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 961 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14360 m. Flight Time - 359 sec.

  • 1972 November 1 - M2 Flight 37.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1292 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21730 m. Flight Time - 378 sec.

  • 1972 November 9 - M2 Flight 38.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 961 kph. Maximum Altitude - 14260 m. Flight Time - 364 sec.

  • 1972 November 21 - M2 Flight 39.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1524 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20330 m. Flight Time - 377 sec.

  • 1972 November 29 - M2 Flight 40.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1432 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20570 m. Flight Time - 357 sec.

  • 1972 December 6 - M2 Flight 41.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Maximum Speed - 1265 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20820 m. Flight Time - 332 sec.

  • 1972 December 13 - M2 Flight 42.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Fastest M2-F3 flight. Maximum Speed - 1712 kph. Maximum Altitude - 20330 m. Flight Time - 383 sec.

  • 1972 December 21 - M2 Flight 43.  Spacecraft: M2-F3.

    Last M2-F3 flight, also highest. Maximum Speed - 1377 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21790 m. Flight Time - 390 sec.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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