NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center

10/20/2026

10/01/2026

NASA is heading to the Pacific Airshow this weekend!✈️

The agency’s newly painted F‑15 — decked out in honor of America’s 250th birthday — will take to the skies during the show alongside a NASA F/A-18. Inside NASA’s exhibit, visitors can explore Artemis, the X‑59, Skyfall, a stunning lunar globe, and an authentic Apollo 15 Moon rock, while pilots and research experts bring the experience to life all weekend long.

If you’re in the Huntington Beach, California, area Oct. 2-4, keep an eye out for the NASA aircraft flying by!

09/30/2026

From five NACA engineers arriving in 1946 to today’s X-59 taking on quiet supersonic flight, NASA Armstrong has spent 80 years pushing the boundaries of aviation.

Our first video in this anniversary series highlights one of our defining themes: Speed. Honoring our history and looking ahead to the next era of innovation.

Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3VjNelu

09/30/2026

80 years ago today, NASA's presence in the Mojave Desert was established!

A handful of engineers from the NACA's Langley Laboratory arrived at Muroc Army Airfield (now Edwards AFB) on Sept 30, 1946, to begin work on the X-1 supersonic research flights. 80 years later, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center continues its work on groundbreaking flight research, including NASA's experimental X-59 supersonic jet!

09/30/2026

Happy 80th anniversary, NASA Armstrong! 🎉

Join us in honoring our legacy with a look back at class photos from 1946 to now — celebrating the people who have made, and continue to make, history.

🔗: nasa.gov/armstrong

09/29/2026

Celebrating a leader who lifts aviation, and all of us, higher! ✈️ 🌟

NASA test pilot and lead pilot for the X-59, David “Nils” Larson, received the 2026 Iven C. Kincheloe Award from The Society of Experimental Test Pilots. This award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishment in flight test and a significant contribution to the aerospace community.

Nils’ exceptional leadership and airmanship as the test pilot for both the X-59’s first flight and its first flight reaching Mach 1.4 and an altitude of 55,000 feet — conditions essential for advancing the aircraft’s mission — exemplify the accomplishments this award was created to recognize.

Congratulations, Nils, on an achievement that inspires the generation of dreamers and doers!

🔗: https://www.nasa.gov/people/david-nils-larson/

09/28/2026

A double birthday celebration! 🎉

NASA teamed up with Edwards Air Force Base in California to celebrate NASA Armstrong’s 80th anniversary and America’s 250th. The Red, White, and Boom event lit up the day with hands-on STEM activities, a thrilling NASA flyover with sonic boom, and inspiring remarks from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick.

A memorable day for the entire Edwards community! 🇺🇸 ✈️

Explore more about Armstrong's 80th: https://go.nasa.gov/4z07K8W

09/24/2026

Welcome home, ER-2! After a three-month deployment to Montana supporting the INSPYRE (INjected Smoke and PYRocumulonimbus Experiment) Earth science campaign, NASA’s high-altitude aircraft is back at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

INSPYRE is helping scientists understand how wildfire-generated, smoke-infused clouds can lift smoke high into the atmosphere and influence our climate.

Fun fact: the ER-2 can soar about 70,000 feet, high enough to study our planet from a satellite-like perspective.

Welcome back, team! ✈️🌍

More on the INSPYRE campaign: https://go.nasa.gov/46MxARY

09/16/2026

NASA’s new X-59 test pilot Mike Lippert has powered up the aircraft for his first time – a significant step toward his first flight in the X-plane.

Supported by experienced X-59 test pilots and months of simulator training, Lippert is gearing up for upcoming tests. These key steps give him a clear view of how the cockpit and control room synchronize during critical operations, revealing the real-time rhythm behind safe, precise flight testing.

More here: https://go.nasa.gov/3Vyu1fG