Lockheed NF-104A

NF-104A
Lockheed NF-104A, 56-0756, climbing with rocket power
Role	Aerospace trainer Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
Designer	Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
First flight	9 July 1963
Introduction	1 October 1963
Retired	June 1971
Primary user	United States Air Force
Number built	3
Developed from	Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

The Lockheed NF-104A is an American mixed-power, high-performance, supersonic aerospace trainer that served as a low-cost astronaut training vehicle for the North American X-15 and projected Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar programs.

Three aircraft were modified from existing Lockheed F-104A Starfighter airframes, and served with the Aerospace Research Pilots School between 1963 and 1971, the modifications included a small supplementary rocket engine and a reaction control system for flight in the stratosphere. During the test program, the maximum altitude reached was more than 120,000 ft (36,600 m). One of the aircraft was destroyed in an accident while being flown by Chuck Yeager. The accident was depicted in the book The Right Stuff and the film of the same name. On December 10, 2019, Edwards Air Force Base released the complete video transcription of films of the 1963 flight and subsequent crash.^[1]