the Apollo and board the lifting body to perform a pre-reentry check on its systems. It was planned that there would be two flights in this program. In the first, the lifting body pilot would return to the Apollo and send the HL-10 back to earth uncrewed. If this flight was successful, the second launch would be involve a piloted landing at Edwards AFB. Reportedly, Wernher von Braun was enthusiastic about the mission, offering to prepare two Saturn Vs and Apollo Command Service Modules. However, he was overridden by the Flight Research Center director, and nothing came of the proposal. Launching a Saturn V to low Earth orbit with a light payload would not be an efficient use of capability, and the Apollo program was ended mainly on cost grounds. HL-10 flights Aircraft serial number Northrop HL-10 — NASA 804, 37 flights Status The HL-10 is currently on display at the entrance of Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA. Specifications (Northrop HL-10) General characteristics Crew: one pilot Length: 21 ft 2 in (6.45 m) Wingspan: 13 ft 7 in (4.15 m) Height: 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) Wing area: 160 ft2 (14.9 m2) Empty: 5,285 lb (2,397 kg) Loaded: 6,000 lb (2,721 kg) Maximum takeoff: 10,009 lb (4,540 kg) (propellant wt 3,536 lb - 1,604 kg) Powerplant: 1 x Reaction Motors XLR-11 four-chamber rocket engine. 8,000 lbf (35.7 kN) thrust Performance Maximum speed: 1,228 mph (1,976 km/h) Range: 45 miles (72 km) Service ceiling: 90,303 ft (27,524 m) Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min) Wing loading: 62.5 lb/ft2 (304.7 kg/m2) Thrust-to-weight: 1:0.99 Fictional references In the pilot movie, and an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man series, titled "The Deadly Replay", the HL-10 serial number 804 is identified as the aircraft flown by Col. Steve Austin when he crashed, leading to his transformation into a bionic man, and the HL-10 is also featured in this episode. Other episodes and Martin Caidin's original novel, Cyborg, contradict this, however, by identifying Austin's aircraft as a fictional cousin of the HL-10, the M3-F5. Further confusion is added by the fact that both the HL-10 and the M2-F2 are featured in the opening credits of the television show. See also References NASA Dryden HL-10 Photo Collection Developing and Flight Testing the HL-10 Lifting Body - NASA 1994 (PDF) Current display location Lifting bodies 1960s United States experimental aircraft HL-10, Northrop HL-10,