The planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010 will
bring to a close an era that opened in the Antelope Valley nearly a
half century ago. The vehicle which began that era – the
M2-F1 – was an unlikely forefather to the shuttle. The
world’s first manned lifting body, the M2-F1 was made of
wood, had an internal framework of steel tubes, looked like a
bathtub sitting on a tricycle, and had no wings.
Flies For Three And A Half Days -- Unofficial World Record For
Longest Duration Unmanned Flight
The Zephyr, a solar powered high-altitude long-endurance (HALE)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has flown a 'world-beating' three and
a half day flight at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
The solar powered plane flew for 82 hours 37 minutes, exceeding the
current official world record for unmanned flight which stands at
30 hours 24 minutes set by Global Hawk in 2001 and Zephyr's
previous longest flight of 54 hours achieved last year.
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