Boeing Phantom Ray UAV rides on NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
Dec. 14, 2010
ST. LOUIS, 14 Dec. 2010. The Boeing [NYSE: BA] Phantom Ray unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747, as it took off a test flight at Lambert International Airport. The 50-minute flight was conducted in preparation for Phantom Ray's upcoming transport on the SCA to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Posted by John McHaleST. LOUIS, 14 Dec. 2010. The Boeing [NYSE: BA] Phantom Ray unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747, as it took off a test flight at Lambert International Airport. The 50-minute flight was conducted in preparation for Phantom Ray's upcoming transport on the SCA to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif."This is exciting not just because it's the first time that an aircraft other than the space shuttle has flown on the SCA, but also because it puts Phantom Ray that much closer to making its first flight," says Craig Brown, Phantom Ray program manager for Boeing.The SCA flights with the Phantom Ray UAV are being conducted under a Boeing-funded, commercial Space Act Agreement with NASA. Once Phantom Ray arrives at Dryden, it will undergo ground and high-speed taxi tests to prepare for its first flight in early 2011.Phantom Ray is one of several programs in Boeing's Phantom Works division that are part of the company's rapid prototyping initiative to design, develop and build advanced aircraft and then demonstrate their capabilities.
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