posted 12-14-2010 10:25 AM               

Boeing Phantom Ray Takes a Ride on NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

The Boeing Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system sits atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747, as it takes off at 1:40 p.m. Central time for today's test flight at Lambert International Airport. The 50-minute flight was conducted in preparation for Phantom Ray's upcoming transport on the SCA to the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

"This is exciting not just because it's the first time that an aircraft other than the space shuttle has flown on the SCA, but also because it puts Phantom Ray that much closer to making its first flight," said Craig Brown, Phantom Ray program manager for Boeing.

The SCA flights with Phantom Ray are being conducted under a Boeing-funded, commercial Space Act Agreement with NASA. Once Phantom Ray arrives at Dryden, it will undergo ground and high-speed taxi tests to prepare for its first flight in early 2011.

Phantom Ray is one of several programs in Boeing's Phantom Works division that are part of the company's rapid prototyping initiative to design, develop and build advanced aircraft and then demonstrate their capabilities.

posted 01-14-2011 03:18 PM               

Phantom Ray Now At Edwards Air Force Base

Following its 1,800-mile journey from St. Louis to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on the back of one of NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), Boeing's Phantom Ray unmanned airborne system is now safely in a hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. The six-hour flight from St. Louis took Phantom Ray and the SCA through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before the aircraft landed in California.

"After its initial test flight in St. Louis on Dec. 13, NASA and Boeing engineers inspected the two aircraft, and the adapter connecting them, for any damage or defects," said Craig Brown, Phantom Ray program manager. "Everything was fine so we decided to fly the following day, and by doing so we avoided additional bad weather in St. Louis and are on track for Phantom Ray's first flight."

The Phantom Ray team will immediately begin testing Phantom Ray's systems at Dryden in preparation for high-speed taxi tests and the first flight in early 2011.