How NASA's HL-10 lifting body proved wingless reentry and runway landings were possible, shaping future space shuttle design.

The cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Oct. 11, 1965, issue featured Northrop Corp.'s M2-F2 lifting body research vehicle mated to the wing of a Boeing B-52 at NASA’s Flight Research Center ...

Seen here, the Northrop M2-F2, a prototype that would eventually serve as a model for the Space Shuttle, flies gracefully through a clear sky. Everything goes wrong, however, as it attempts to land, ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On Nov. 25, 1970, an experimental aircraft called the Northrop M2-F3 made its first powered flight. The M2-F3 was a heavyweight ...