Selected Examples of NACA/NASA Supersonic Flight Research

The present Dryden Flight Research Center, a part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has a flight research history that extends back to the mid-1940's. The parent organization was a part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and was formed in 1946 as the Muroc Flight Test Unit. This document describes 13 selected examples of important supersonic flight research conducted from the Mojave Desert location of the Dryden Flight Research Center over a 4 decade period beginning in 1946. The research described herein was either obtained at supersonic speeds or enabled subsequent aircraft to penetrate or traverse the supersonic region. In some instances there accrued from these research efforts benefits which are also applicable at lower or higher speed regions. A major consideration in the selection of the various research topics was the lasting impact they have had, or will have, on subsequent supersonic flight vehicle design, efficiency, safety, and performance or upon improved supersonic research techniques.