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The Northrop HL-10 was one of five US heavyweight
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage ...
designs flown at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's Flight Research Center (FRC—later
Dryden Flight Research Center The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical rese ...
) in
Edwards, California Edwards (formerly, Muroc and Wherry Housing) is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located east-southeast of Mojave, about northeast of Lancaster, east of Rosamond, and south of California City at an elevation ...
, from July 1966 to November
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
to study and validate the concept of safely maneuvering and landing a low lift-over-drag vehicle designed for reentry from space. It was a NASA design and was built to evaluate "inverted airfoil" lifting body and
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...
planform In technical drawing and computer graphics, a multiview projection is a technique of illustration by which a standardized series of orthographic two-dimensional pictures are constructed to represent the form of a three-dimensional object. Up to ...
. It currently is on display at the entrance to the Armstrong Flight Research Center at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
.


Development

Northrop Corporation built the HL-10 and
Northrop M2-F2 The Northrop M2-F2 was a heavyweight lifting body based on studies at NASA's Ames and Langley research centers and built by the Northrop Corporation in 1966. Development The success of Dryden's M2-F1 program led to NASA's development and cons ...
, the first two of the fleet of "heavy" lifting bodies flown by the NASA Flight Research Center. The contract for construction of the HL-10 and the M2-F2 was $1.8 million. "HL" stands for horizontal landing, and "10" refers to the tenth design studied by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center,
Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...
. Main gear was a modified T-38 system retracted manually, and lowered by nitrogen pressure. Nose gear was a modified
T-39 The North American Sabreliner, later sold as the Rockwell Sabreliner, is an American mid-sized business jet developed by North American Aviation. It was offered to the United States Air Force (USAF) in response to its Utility Trainer Experimen ...
unit, retracted manually and lowered with nitrogen pressure. Pilot Ejection System was a modified
F-106 The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was the primary all-weather interceptor aircraft of the United States Air Force from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Designed as the so-called "Ultimate Interceptor", it proved to be the last specialist interceptor i ...
system. Silver zinc batteries provided electrical power for the control system, flight instruments, radios, cockpit heat, and stability augmentation system. To assist in pre-landing flare, four throttleable hydrogen peroxide rockets provided up to 400 lbf (1.8 kN) of thrust.


Operational history

After delivery to NASA in January 1966, the HL-10 made its first flight on December 22, 1966, with research pilot Bruce Peterson in the cockpit. Although the XLR-11 rocket engine (same type used in the
Bell X-1 The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
) was installed, the first 11
drops Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...
from the
B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
launch aircraft were unpowered glide flights to assess handling qualities, stability, and control. In the end, the HL-10 was judged to be the best handling of the three original heavy-weight lifting bodies (M2-F2/F3, HL-10, X-24A). The HL-10 was flown 37 times during the lifting body research program and logged the highest altitude and fastest speed in the
lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage ...
program. On February 18, 1970, Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag piloted the HL-10 to Mach 1.86 (). Nine days later, NASA pilot William H. "Bill" Dana flew the vehicle to , which became the highest altitude reached in the program. During a typical lifting body flight, the B-52—with the research vehicle attached to the pylon mount on the right wing between the fuselage and inboard engine pod—flew to a height of about and a launch speed of about . Moments after being dropped, the XLR-11 was lit by the pilot. Speed and altitude increased until the engine was shut down by choice or fuel exhaustion, depending upon the individual mission profile. The lifting bodies normally carried enough fuel for about 100 seconds of powered flight and routinely reached from and speeds above Mach 1. Following engine shutdown, the pilot maneuvered the vehicle through a simulated return-from-space corridor into a pre-planned approach for a landing on one of the lakebed runways on
Rogers Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...
at Edwards. A circular approach was used to lose altitude during the landing phase. On the final approach leg, the pilot increased his rate of descent to build up energy. At about altitude, a "flare out" maneuver dropped air speed to about for the landing. Unusual and valuable lessons were learned through the successful flight testing of the HL-10. During the early phases of the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
development program, lifting bodies patterned on the HL-10 shape were one of three major types of proposals. These were later rejected as it proved difficult to fit cylindrical fuel tanks into the always-curving fuselage, and from then on most designs focused on more conventional
delta wing A delta wing is a wing shaped in the form of a triangle. It is named for its similarity in shape to the Greek uppercase letter delta (Δ). Although long studied, it did not find significant applications until the Jet Age, when it proved suitabl ...
craft. *HL-10 pilots **John A. Manke — 10 flights, 7 powered flights ** William H. Dana — 9 flights, 8 powered flights ** Jerauld R. Gentry — 9 flights, 2 powered flights **Peter C. Hoag — 8 flights, 7 powered flights ** Bruce Peterson — 1 flight, 0 powered flights


Unrealized space flight

According to the book "Wingless Flight", by project engineer
R. Dale Reed Robert Dale Reed (February 20, 1930 - March 18, 2005) was an aerospace engineer who pioneered lifting body aircraft and remotely piloted research aircraft programs for NASA at Dryden Flight Research Center. Career Reed, born on February 20, 1930, ...
, the HL-10 was considered to fly into space in the early to mid-1970s. Following the cancellation of the Apollo moon project, Reed realized that there would be substantial Apollo hardware left over, including several flight-rated command service modules (CSM) and
Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
rockets. The proposal was to add an ablative heat shield, reaction controls, and other additional subsystems needed for crewed spaceflight to the HL-10. The now space-rated vehicle would have then been launched in the space for the Lunar Module on a Saturn V launch vehicle with an Apollo CSM. Once in Earth orbit, it was planned that a robotic extraction arm would remove the HL-10 from the rocket's third stage and place it adjacent to the crewed Apollo CSM spacecraft. One of the astronauts would then spacewalk from the Apollo and board the lifting body to perform a pre-reentry check on its systems. It was planned that there would be two flights in this program. In the first, the lifting body pilot would return to the Apollo and send the HL-10 back to earth uncrewed. If this flight was successful, the second launch would be involve a piloted landing at Edwards AFB. Reportedly,
Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
was enthusiastic about the mission, offering to prepare two Saturn Vs and Apollo Command Service Modules. However, he was overridden by the Flight Research Center director, and nothing came of the proposal.
also available as a PDF file
''
Launching a Saturn V to low Earth orbit with a light payload would not be an efficient use of capability, and the Apollo program was ended mainly on cost grounds.


HL-10 flights


Aircraft serial number

*Northrop HL-10 — NASA 804, 37 flights


Status

The HL-10 is currently on display at the entrance of Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA.


Specifications (Northrop HL-10)


General characteristics

* Crew: one pilot * Length: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m) * Wingspan: 13 ft 7 in (4.15 m) * Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) * Wing area: 160 ft2 (14.9 m2) * Empty: 5,285 lb (2,397 kg) * Loaded: 6,000 lb (2,721 kg) * Maximum takeoff: 10,009 lb (4,540 kg) (propellant wt 3,536 lb - 1,604 kg) * Powerplant: 1 x
Reaction Motors XLR-11 The XLR11, company designation RMI 6000C4, was the first liquid-propellant rocket engine developed in the United States for use in aircraft. It was designed and built by Reaction Motors Inc., and used ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen as propellant ...
four-chamber rocket engine. 8,000 lbf (35.7 kN) thrust


Performance

* Maximum speed: 1,228 mph (1,976 km/h) * Range: 45 miles (72 km) * Service ceiling: 90,303 ft (27,524 m) * Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min) * Wing loading: 62.5 lb/ft2 (304.7 kg/m2) * Thrust-to-weight: 1:0.99


Fictional references

In the pilot movie, and an episode of ''
The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...
'' series, titled "The Deadly Replay", the HL-10 serial number 804 is identified as the aircraft flown by Col.
Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
when he crashed, leading to his transformation into a bionic man, and the HL-10 is also featured in this episode. Other episodes and
Martin Caidin Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
's original novel, ''
Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.
'', contradict this, however, by identifying Austin's aircraft as a fictional cousin of the HL-10, the M3-F5.
Martin Caidin Martin Caidin (September 14, 1927 – March 24, 1997) was an American author, screenwriter, and an authority on aeronautics and aviation. Caidin began writing fiction in 1957. In his career he authored more than 50 fiction and nonfiction books ...
, ''
Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.
'', Arbor House, 1972, and sequel works, plus the 1987 telefilm ''Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman''
Further confusion is added by the fact that both the HL-10 and the M2-F2 are featured in the opening credits of the television show.


See also


References


NASA Dryden HL-10 Photo Collection

Developing and Flight Testing the HL-10 Lifting Body - NASA 1994 (PDF)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Northrop Hl-10 Lifting bodies 1960s United States experimental aircraft HL-10, Northrop HL-10, Northrop
HL-10 The Northrop HL-10 was one of five US heavyweight lifting body designs flown at NASA's Flight Research Center (FRC—later Dryden Flight Research Center) in Edwards, California, from July 1966 in aviation, 1966 to November 1975 in aviation, 1975 ...
Aircraft first flown in 1966