Space History Photo: Pathfinder I with Pressure Wing

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A NASA technician inspects a transport model between wind tunnel tests. (Image credit: NASA | Fred Jones.)

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, NASA technician W.L. Jones inspects a transport model Pathfinder I between test runs at Langley's National Transonic Facility (NTF) on Nov. 17, 1986. The stainless steel model is representative of the next generation of subsonic transports. With the help of super-cold nitrogen and high pressure, the NTF is the first major wind tunnel that can simulate full scale aerodynamic flight conditions.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).

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U.S. Space Agency

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the U.S. government agency in charge of the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Founded in 1958, NASA is a civilian space agency aimed at exploring the universe with space telescopes,  satellites, robotic spacecraft, astronauts and more. The space agency has 10 major centers based across the U.S. and launches robotic and crewed missions from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida. Its astronaut corps is based at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. To follow NASA's latest mission, follow the space agency on Twitter or any other social channel, visit: nasa.gov.