On Aug. 16, 1963, NASA's M2-F1 aircraft prototype made its first glide flight. This wingless aircraft kind of looked like a flying bathtub. NASA made it to test a new concept called the lifting body, ...

In 1962, NASA’s Flight Research Center in California approved the construction of a prototype lifting body aircraft, which became the M2-F1, also known as the “ Flying Bathtub .” The designation is ...