Space History Photo: Pathfinder I with Pressure Wing

A NASA technician inspects a transport model between wind tunnel tests. CREDIT: NASA | Fred Jones. View full size image

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).