Aeronautics: The Wingless Glider

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The contraption looked more like an inverted flat iron than a flying machine. With two tail fins and no wings, a rounded belly and a flat top, the experimental craft M2-F2 was rolled out last week by Northrop's Norair division and turned over to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for a series of test flights. M2-F2 is a wingless glider, called the Manned Lifting Body Research Vehicle, designed to be used eventually to ferry astronauts back from space to a dry landing rather than an ocean dunking.

Wrapped in an aluminum skin, the M2-F2 measures 22 ft. 2 in. long and 9 ft. 7 in. wide at its broadest point (the tail). To control the glider's descent once it reaches the atmosphere, the pilot has a rudder on each tail fin for turning, a pair of flaps on the top of the aft section of the body for upward pitch and roll adjustments, and a single flap under the aft section for downward pitch. If angle of descent becomes too sharp, the pilot can fire the two small thruster rockets on board. Wings are not necessary to achieve stability and lift.

In future space voyages, the lifting body will be orbited separately. When the astronauts are ready for the trip back, they will rendezvous with the M2-F2, hop in, fire the retrorockets and glide on home.