Connect with NASA Dryden
Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility
Dryden's Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale offers the expanded space needed to manage the Center's airborne science missions and research platforms.
This Week in Dryden's History
A collection of historical facts and events from Dryden's last 50 years.
Dryden Tours Cancelled
Due to budgetary constraints, group and individual tours of Dryden Flight Research Center have been cancelled effective Dec. 16, 2011.
DFRC Severe Weather Instructions
Employee procedures for determining if Dryden is open for a normal workday during severe weather conditions.
Dryden News and Features
News and Features
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SOFIA Observatory Peers Into Heart of Orion Nebula
A new image from NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) shows a complex distribution of interstellar dust and stars in the Orion nebula.
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Eyes of the Dragon: ER-2 Undergoes Major Rehab
NASA photographer Tom Tschida gets some unusual perspectives on the high-flying Earth science aircraft as it is disassembled for major maintenance.
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Dryden Supported Many Aspects of Shuttle Missions
NASA Dryden provided a wide range of physical and communications support to the space shuttle program over more than three decades.
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NASA Gears Up for Airborne Tropopause Study
NASA recently completed flight tests to prepare for a multi-year airborne campaign to study humidity and chemistry of the tropical tropopause.
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NASA Quiet Sonic Boom Research Ends in a Whisper
NASA researchers recently gathered data from a select group of volunteers on their perception of sonic booms created by aircraft in supersonic flight.
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NASA's Antarctic 2011 IceBridge Campaign Concludes
NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory has returned to the United States after completing its Fall 2011 Operation IceBridge campaign over Antarctica.
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SOFIA Observatory Images W40 Star Forming Region
NASA's SOFIA flying observatory has taken the highest resolution mid-infrared image to date of the massive W40 star-forming region in the Milky Way.
Dryden Spotlight
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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.
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Research Update
Current flight research projects and programs being flown at Dryden Flight Research Center.
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NASA Dryden and the Space Shuttles
Although most followers of NASA's Space Shuttle Program associate the shuttles with NASA's space-oriented field centers, major contributions to the shuttles' development occurred at NASA's four research field centers. Learn about some of NASA Dryden's contributions to space shuttle development and support in this series of historical articles
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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.
X-Press Publications
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X-Press: Shuttle Tribute
Dryden played an important role in the shuttle program from its earliest stages. The space shuttle prototype Enterprise was flown at the center in a 1977 series of flight tests that evaluated glide and landing characteristics of the 100-ton vehicles.
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Aerovations
Expanding on initiatives of the former Innovative Partnerships Program, new opportunities are nurturing innovations inside and outside of NASA.
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Multimedia
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Aircraft Imagery
Photos, video and graphics of Dryden aircraft