''Balls 8'' is a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Boeing NB-52B

mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...

which was retired in 2004 after almost 50 years of flying service with NASA. The aircraft is famous for dropping the

X-15 The North American X-15 is a Hypersonic speed, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft which was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the List of X-planes, X-plane series of ...

aerospace research vehicle on 106 of the 199 X-15 program flights.

Introduction

According to certain assertions, the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, Air Force 52-0008, is the aircraft that has witnessed and taken part in the most historical aeronautical research events. It has been a mainstay at Edwards Air Force Base for 45 years. The goal of launching the North American

hypersonic research aircraft project in 1958 took the NB-52B and its sister ship, the NB-52A, 52-0003. The NB-52B served as a launch platform for numerous programs until its final mission on November 16, 2004, whereas the NB-52A was retired in October 1969. Throughout its very difficult mission, the NB-52B was a flying launch pad. While flying nine miles above the ground, it had to provide the rocket planes it carried with the propellants, gasses, and power typically associated with a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. Because of this capability, the airplane became a vital tool for aeronautical studies. The right wing of the Stratofortress was reinforced and fitted with a pylon that could carry the heaviest payloads ever launched from an airplane’s wing. In fact, some of the payloads it dropped weighed more than 50,000 pounds (about 1/5 of the aircraft’s own weight). The Stratofortress’ X-15 rocket aircraft flew pilots to unprecedented altitudes and speeds. The first winged vehicles reached speeds of Mach-1, Mach-2, Mach-3, and Mach-4, respectively. They also flew for the first time over 130,000 feet, and eventually reached more than 364,000 feet (about 100,000 meters) above the surface of the Earth. Five pilots earned astronaut wings by flying more than fifty miles in an X-15. Unfortunately, one of those pilots was killed on a qualifying flight when the third X-15 blew up on re-entry. The Space Shuttle program owes a debt of gratitude to the original NB-52B. The re-engineered Stratofortress had launched a number of wingless lifting body aircraft that showed the feasibility of the Space Shuttle’s steep gliding approach to landings. The new NB-52B showed that an airplane weighing three and a half million pounds could also do such landings. The parachutes that dropped the Shuttle's solid fuel boosters to the ocean were also tested in drops from a pylon on the aircraft’s wing. The drag chute that slowed the Space Shuttle down after landing was also tested on this aircraft. Despite repeated arguments that the old bomber was getting harder and more expensive to maintain, new programs kept popping up that demanded the unique abilities of the old NB-52B, so it kept hauling unique devices up. NB-52B launched a number of scale RPAVs and drones in the ‘70s and ‘80s, including the 3/8 scale F-15 RPAV (Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle), the Ryan Firebee II (Ryan Firebee) drone (Ryan Firebee based Drone for Aeroelastic Structure Testing (DAST)), and the highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT). It was the last B-52 with a bomb bay configured to carry the MAU-12 bomb rack originally used to drop large thermonuclear warheads. For research purposes, the NB-52B itself was utilized. By flying past a tower equipped with smoke generators, it helped researchers visualize the wake turbulence of a large aircraft. It served as an air-to-air gunnery target. In the mid 1990s, when the NB-52B was testing pollution reducing fuel additives with a pair of jet engines mounted under the bomb bay, it flew as a ten engine jet for some time. During the X-38 program, the biggest parafoil in history has been dropped from NB-52B. The parafoil had an area of 7,500 square feet, greater than 1-1/2 times the area of the wing on a

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

. The NB-52B's career has come to an end with the launch of the world's most powerful airbreathing jet engine. On its final mission it launched the third X-43A Hyper-X supersonic combustion ramjet on a modified Pegasus booster that ,propelled it to a speed of Mach-9.6 (7,365mph or 11,854 kph) at an altitude of 110,000 feet. Future aerospace vehicles with a speed of more than 7,000 kilometers an hour are presaged by the successful operation of supersonic combustion ramjet engine. On December 17, 2004 the NB-52B was honored at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards Air Force Base with a retirement ceremony for its unique contribution to aviation history.

History

''Balls 8'' was originally an RB-52B that was first flown on June 11, 1955, and entered service with NASA on June 8, 1959. It was modified at

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F- ...

's Palmdale facility to enable it to carry the X-15. As on its NB-52A predecessor, a pylon was installed beneath the right wing between the fuselage and the inboard engines with a section removed from the wing flap to accommodate the X-15's tail. The modified bomber flew 159 captive-carry and launch missions for the X-15 program from June 1959 until October 1968. It was first used to launch the X-15 on its fifth flight, January 23, 1960. It also flew missions for the X-24, HiMAT,

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift (force), 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 ...

vehicles, X-43, early launches of the OSC Pegasus rocket, and numerous other programs. At its retirement on 17 December 2004, ''Balls 8'' was the oldest active B-52 in service, and the only active B-52 that was not an H model. It also had the lowest total airframe time of any operational B-52. It is on permanent public display near the north gate of

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, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

in California. It derives its nickname from its NASA tail number 52-008: leading zeroes plus the number 8. Among USAF personnel, it is common practice to refer to aircraft whose tail number contains two or more zeros as "Balls" and the last digit (or two digits) of its tail number.

Introduction

History

See also

References

Further reading