Phantom Ray Drone Makes Its First Flight, A Piggyback Ride On A Shuttle-Carrier 747

By Rebecca BoylePosted 12.13.2010 at 6:41 pm9 Comments

Takeoff Boeing

ST. LOUIS — Boeing's newest spy drone, the Phantom Ray, got its first taste of the air Monday while hitching a ride on a 747 designed to ferry the space shuttle. PopSci braved the freezing cold to bring you exclusive coverage.

Phantom Ray Hitches a Ride: A NASA shuttle carrier toting a new spy drone takes off Monday afternoon from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis.  Rebecca Boyle

The drone will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base sometime this week, but Boeing and NASA had to take a test flight first to make sure everything worked properly and the tiny plane survived the trip.

"It stayed on," joked Craig Brown, Phantom Ray's program manager.

Check back later for more photos and video.