X-51

A modified B-52H takes off towards the Pacific Ocean from Edwards May 26. It carried the X-51A WaveRider scramjet under its wing and launched it over the ocean. The successful scramjet test provided important data for future tests of the new engine technology. (Air Force photo by Greg Davis)

X-51 test

A B-52H carrying an X-51A WaveRider scramjet taxis down a runway at Edwards May 26. The X-51A was launched from beneath the wing of the B-52H at about 50,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean. (Air Force photo by Greg Davis)

Buff in the rough

Volunteers move the Air Force Flight Test Center Museum's B-52 to the North Gate on Oct. 1. Maintainers from 912th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron towed the aircraft from the museum's maintenance hangar at North Base. Personnel from the 95th Civil Engineering and Transportation Directorate provided the expertise and equipment to move the static display almost half a mile across the desert on a tow road they had previously graded. Future improvements to the display area will include a small parking lot, walkways, signage and concrete pads under the landing gear. (Photo by Doug Nelson)

SECAF certifies Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuel blends for B-52H

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne fields questions from the media during a ceremony here Aug. 8, certifying Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuel blends for use in the B-52H. (Photo by Jet Fabara)

Edwards hosts Boeing, Italian Air Force tanker tests

An Italian Air Force Boeing 767 tanker refuels an Edwards B-52 over California's Mojave Desert on March 5, 2007. The tanker successfully extended its fifth generation, fly-by-wire air refueling boom and transferred fuel for the first time to another aircraft. (Photo by Jet Fabara)

B-52 flight uses synthetic fuel in all eight engines

A B-52 Stratofortress takes off Dec. 15, 2006, from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on a flight-test mission using a blend of synthetic fuel and JP-8 in all eight engines. This is the first time a "Buff" has flown using a synfuel-blend as the only fuel on board. In September, the Air Force successfully flew a B-52 with two-engines using the synfuel-blend. The B-52 test flights at Edwards are the initial steps in the Air Force process to test and certify a synthetic blend of fuel for its aviation fleet. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Eric M. Grill)