@AFFTMuseum
 Edwards AFB, CA
flighttestmuseum.org/
Joined April 2013
  • Tweets1K
  • Following50
  • Followers894
438Media
The Flight Test Museum Foundation has teamed up with award-winning photographer Jim Krantz @jimkrantzphoto and architecture and design firm Gensler to bring the breathtaking conceptual design for the museum to life!
5
12
5
52
Happy 79th Anniversary of the Breaking of the Sound Barrier! Fun fact: When he achieved this record, Chuck Yeager had multiple broken ribs from a horseback riding accident occurring just the night before! #aerospace #aerospacevalley #flighttest #ChuckYeager #testpilot
1
1
10
300
Flight Test Museum retweeted
NASA Armstrong
@NASAArmstrongAug 27
From test pilot to astronaut, and from Southern California to the Moon! 🚀🌞✨ NASA astronaut Victor Glover returned to familiar ground this week, visiting NASA Armstrong, the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, and students at Edwards Air Force Base. He shared stories from his journey as a U.S. Navy captain, test pilot, and Artemis II astronaut, along with the message he often gives students: be resilient, keep learning, respect the people around you, and remember that you’re not walking your path alone. The next giant leap begins with people willing to take the first step.
A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a small audience of students at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a small audience of students at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience of students in a high school auditorium. Credit: NASA/Ryan Kline

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience of students in a high school auditorium. Credit: NASA/Ryan Kline

2
35
2
168
12,674
Flight Test Museum retweeted
Edwards Air Force Base@EdwardsAFBAug 27
Always a fun day when #USAF TPS alumni return for a visit! 🔸🚀
NASA Armstrong
@NASAArmstrongAug 27
From test pilot to astronaut, and from Southern California to the Moon! 🚀🌞✨ NASA astronaut Victor Glover returned to familiar ground this week, visiting NASA Armstrong, the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, and students at Edwards Air Force Base. He shared stories from his journey as a U.S. Navy captain, test pilot, and Artemis II astronaut, along with the message he often gives students: be resilient, keep learning, respect the people around you, and remember that you’re not walking your path alone. The next giant leap begins with people willing to take the first step.
A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience inside an aircraft hangar. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a small audience of students at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a small audience of students at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. Credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience of students in a high school auditorium. Credit: NASA/Ryan Kline

ALT A NASA astronaut wearing a bright blue flight suit speaks to a large audience of students in a high school auditorium. Credit: NASA/Ryan Kline

2
5
22
1,964
Flight Test Museum retweeted
Hubble
@NASAHubbleAug 18
Spread your wings 🪽 An aging star at the center of the nebula Hen 2-437 casts off spectacularly symmetrical lobes of gas. Hen 2-437 resides in the faint northern constellation of Vulpecula (The Fox): go.nasa.gov/4zlj5l6
Icy blue wings of gas extend to the left and right of a bright white star, all against black space studded with stars.

ALT Icy blue wings of gas extend to the left and right of a bright white star, all against black space studded with stars.

55
469
30
2,466
119,373
Shouting out two first flights today! ✈️ The JB-1 took its first flight on August 27th, 1943! The Northrop JB-1A “Bat” or “Thunderbug” was a prototype surface-to-surface cruise missile developed in the United States during World War II. Read below⬇️
1
1
2
123
✈️The YF-23A took its first flight on August 27th, 1990! Nicknamed “Black Widow II”, two YF-23 prototypes were built. After flight testing, both YF-23s were placed in storage while various agencies considered plans to use them for further research, but none proceeded.
1
1
59
✈️Starting the week off strong with some aviation history! On August 17th, 1974, the YQM-98A took its first flight! Also called the Compass Cope R, the YQM was a developmental aerial reconnaissance drone developed by Ryan Aeronautical.
1
1
95
Despite the competition for the contract between Boeing and their YQM-94 Compass Cope B and the Ryan Aeronautical YQM-98A Compass Cope R, the program was short-lived due to difficulties in developing sensor payloads for the aircraft. #flighttest #flighttesthistory #testpliots
1
43
Queue the loudest engine to grace the skies…. On July 22nd, 1955, the XF-84H took its first flight! Republic Aviations Thunderscreech was a experimental turboprop aircraft derived from the F-84F Thunderstreak.
1
9
209
more replies
The shock waves were powerful enough to knock a man down and were known for producing adverse effects like headaches for ground crews. These issues, combined with inconsistent engine performance, saw the program canceled in September 1956. #flighttest #flighttesthistory
1
34
#testpliots #flighttestengineer #aerospaceengineer aerospace aviation firstflights
22
Flight Test Museum retweeted
NASA
@NASAJul 21
Check! ✔️ For the first time, scientists used our IXPE telescope to measure the magnetic field of a pulsar—a spinning neutron star—located in the Lighthouse Nebula. This data helps us understand the structure of these extreme cosmic objects. go.nasa.gov/4wVjsRt
The Lighthouse Nebula (upper left) and a pulsar (lower right) are illuminated against a spotty starfield. The part of the nebula shown in this image looks like a diffuse, purple cloud with a bright star in the center. The pulsar looks like a bright white streak of light with a purple jet extending from one end, forming the shape of a checkmark. Credits: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./J.T. Dinsmore et al.; IXPE: NASA/MSFC/J.T. Dinsmore et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Optical: 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare

ALT The Lighthouse Nebula (upper left) and a pulsar (lower right) are illuminated against a spotty starfield. The part of the nebula shown in this image looks like a diffuse, purple cloud with a bright star in the center. The pulsar looks like a bright white streak of light with a purple jet extending from one end, forming the shape of a checkmark. Credits: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./J.T. Dinsmore et al.; IXPE: NASA/MSFC/J.T. Dinsmore et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Optical: 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare

258
1,160
51
6,245
1,997,521
Rewinding to…yesterday⏮️ The M2-F2 took its first flight on July 12th, 1966. It was the first of the heavyweight, entry-configuration lifting bodies. The testing of the M2-F2 answered key questions needed for the development of the Space Shuttle and the X-38.
1
1
6
217
The second photo shows the disastrous 1967 crash. Piloted by Bruce Peterson, the M2-F2 suffered from a pilot-induced oscillation (PIO) which distracted Peterson from the rescue helicopter in his trajectory.
1
1
133
Peterson was able to avoid a collision at the cost of the M2-F2, and thankfully he survived the impact. #flighttest #flighttesthistory #testpliots #flighttestengineer #aerospaceengineer aerospace aviation firstflights
1
40
Flight Test Museum retweeted
NASA Marshall
@NASA_MarshallJul 12
This @NASAWebb image shows just a small portion of one of the Orion Molecular Clouds, a massive filament of cold gas and dust beyond the Orion Nebula. Every stage of star formation is contained within this scene, which stretches 150 light-years across! 🔗 go.nasa.gov/4pfeFHH
An area inside a star-forming molecular cloud. The background is covered with layers of gas and dust in blue, green and yellowish colours. Thicker clumps of cold dust, dark brown to black, block out light completely. Stars lie among and atop the clouds, from small orange ones to large white or blue ones. Waves and streams of glowing whitish gas are created by jets from protostars colliding with the surrounding material.

ALT An area inside a star-forming molecular cloud. The background is covered with layers of gas and dust in blue, green and yellowish colours. Thicker clumps of cold dust, dark brown to black, block out light completely. Stars lie among and atop the clouds, from small orange ones to large white or blue ones. Waves and streams of glowing whitish gas are created by jets from protostars colliding with the surrounding material.

39
264
9
1,315
42,890
On July 7th, 1946, the XF-11 took its first flight! Manufactured by Hughes Aircraft, the XF-11 was a prototype reconnaissance aircraft built for the USAAF. Its first flight was piloted by Howard Hughes himself.
1
3
13
794
Unfortunately, due to a variety of issues, resulted in a severe crash almost killing Hughes. With this incident and the Truman Committee investigation, the F-11 program seemed plagued by controversy.
1
63
Although 100 F-11s were ordered, the program was canceled in 1945 as WWll wound down. #flighttest #flighttesthistory #testpliots #flighttestengineer #aerospaceengineer aerospace aviation firstflights
52
Load more