@ Washington, D.C.
August 2018
On exhibit at the National Air & Space Museum is this Northrop M2-F3, a heavyweight lifting body aircraft rebuilt from the Northrop M2-F2 after it crashed at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1967 (folks may remember the crash footage from in the 1973 television series “The Six Million Dollar Man”). The M2-F2 was rebuilt at Northrop and redesignated the M2-F3, modified with an additional vertical fin – centered between the tip fins – to improve control characteristics. Over its 27 missions (1970-1972), the M2-F3 reached a top speed of 1,064 mph (Mach 1.6) and max altitude of 71,500 feet. NASA donated the M2-F3 vehicle to the Smithsonian Institution in December 1973. The powerplant was a Reaction Motors XLR-11 liquid-fuel rocket motor creating 8,000 lbf of thrust with four combustion chamber/nozzle assemblies.