Tupolev Tu-144
A Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transport jet lifts off the runway at Russia’s Zhukovsky Air Development Center in September 1998. NASA teamed with American and Russian aerospace industries for an extended period in a joint international research program featuring the Russian-built Tu-144LL. The object of the program was to develop technologies for a proposed future second-generation supersonic airliner to be developed in the 21st Century.
Topics Related To: AVIATION HISTORY
The McDonnell XP-67 “Moonbat” Represented Ambition Outpacing Engineering
The McDonnell XP-67 “Moonbat” combined cutting-edge technologies, including a blended-wing body and Continental XL-1430 engines, in pursuit of 472 mph performance. Engine overheating and aerodynamic instability ended the ambitious program before it could reach production.
From Business Jet to Spy Plane: How a Civilian Jet Design Nearly Became a Military Surveillance Platform
Grob’s G600 concept would have converted a business jet into a 65,000-foot spy plane with 33 hours of endurance.
Northrop HL-10 Lifting Body Aircraft
To help study the science of spacecraft reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, NASA flew and evaluated various lifting-body aircraft.
