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M2-F3 lifting body - The M2-F3 lifting body test vehicle completed 27 flights from 1967 through 1972. Early flights were unpowered; on later flights it was boosted to high altitude by a rocket engine. The actual craft is suspended overhead in the gallery. - Manufacturer: Northrop Norair - Country of Origin: United States of America - Dimensions: Overall: 8ft x 22ft x 9ft, 6000lb. (243.84 x 670.56 x 274.32cm, 2721.6kg) - Materials: Aluminum, glass or plastic, various materials inside - This M2-F3 lifting body was the first of the heavyweight, wingless lifting body research craft of the 1960s. The lifting body programs tested the concept of achieving aerodynamic lift from just the shape of wingless craft, a concept used in designing the Space Shuttle. This F3 is the F2 re-built after a landing accident seriously damaged the M2-F2. The rocket-powered M2 was launched from beneath a B-52 mother craft at an altitude of 45,000 ft. and would glide to a landing. NASA transferred the M2-F3 to the Museum for display in 1975.

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