Northrop HL-10 and B-52 aircraft. NASA research pilot Bill Dana (right) watching NASA's NB-52B fly overhead. At left, John Reeves is at the HL-10 cock

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Northrop HL-10 and B-52 aircraft. NASA research pilot Bill Dana (right) watching NASA's NB-52B fly overhead. At left, John Reeves is at the HL-10 cockpit. The HL-10 was one of a series of experimental space re-entry aircraft known as lifting body designs. They had short, bulbous or curved fuselages and featured minimal wings or were wingless, features that aided re-entry from space. The HL-10, dropped from B-52 planes, was flown from July 1966 to November 1975. Despite its success, NASA cancelled the lifting body design in favour of the delta wing during early Space Shuttle development. Photographed in 1969, on Rogers Dry Lake Bed, California, USA.

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Size: 3328px × 2639px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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