NASA - Dryden Flight Research Center

Shuttle Status

Endeavour's Rendezvous With Space Station Slated Early Wednesday

In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, processing of the node 3, named Tranquility, nears completion.

The Tranquility node of the International Space Station is shown with its cupola and hatch covered last December in the Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Also known as Node 3, the Tranquility node is being transported to the station this week on the space shuttle Endeavour and will be installed on the station during mission STS-130. (NASA photo / Amanda Diller)

The STS-130 crew spent its first full day in space inspecting space shuttle Endeavour’s thermal protection system, checking out spacesuits and making preparations for docking with the International Space Station. The crew is scheduled to begin rendezvous operations to dock with the station shortly after midnight Wednesday. Endeavour launched early Sunday morning from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the last nighttime launch of the space shuttle program.

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News and Features

NASA Researchers Study Potential Wildfire-related Erosion on L.A. Hillsides

Residents in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles are anticipating possible landslides and flooding with the coming of winter's wet weather and little to no brush to hold the soil back.
Celebrating the Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King

Edwards and Dryden personnel joined in a march and celebration to honor the life work and vision of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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ER-2s Transferred to Dryden's Palmdale Facility

NASA's ER-2 #806 arrived at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., after a brief night proficiency flight by research pilot Denis Steele on Jan. 11, 2010.
David D. McBride Named Director

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has appointed David D. McBride as director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
2009 - Another Year of Accomplishment at NASA Dryden

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., continued supporting NASA's four mission areas during 2009, advancing the agency's overall charter of leading the nation in aerospace technology.
NASA Airborne Telescope Will Be Used to Study Cosmos

A NASA jumbo jet that will help scientists unlock the origins of the universe with infrared observations reached a milestone Friday when doors covering the plane’s telescope were fully opened in flight.
Hanging on a Propeller

Model aircraft flier Mark Leseberg hovers one of his radio-controlled aerobatic model airplanes over NASA Dryden videographer Steve Parcel during a demonstration in a Dryden hangar Jan. 7

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Dryden Spotlight

STS-130

Shuttle Endeavour and six astronauts are targeted to deliver the Tranquility module and cupola during a 13-day mission to the International Space Station in February.
SOFIA

NASA is developing the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy - or SOFIA - as a world-class airborne observatory that will complement the Hubble, Spitzer, Herschel and James Webb space telescopes and major Earth-based telescopes.
› Mission Update
Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

NASA Dryden is leading the Orion crew module launch abort system flight test effort, including crew module systems integration for the first two flights.
› Orion Fact Sheet
› Orion Photos
› Orion Movies →
Western States Fire Mission

NASA and the U.S. Forest Service are partnering to obtain visible light, infrared and thermal imagery of California wildfires using the Ikhana, a remotely piloted Predator B aircraft.
› Fire and Smoke Mission Page
› Fire and Smoke Images
X-15 Interactive Feature

The sensational, iconic, and groundbreaking X-15 hypersonic research aircraft extended flight to the edge of space during the 1950s and 1960s.
Research Update

Current flight research projects and programs being flown at Dryden Flight Research Center.
Aerovations

The Innovative Partnerships Program acts as a pathfinder and an agent of change for new technology development through partnerships with small businesses and research institutions.