NASA 

National Aeronautics and 

Facts

Space Administration 

Dryden Flight Research Center 

P.O. Box 273

Edwards, California 93523 

Voice 661-276-3449 

FAX 661-276-3566 

pao@dfrc.nasa.gov FS-2003-11-086 DFRC 

The Lake Beds

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, a civilian tenant 

organization within the boundaries of Edwards Air Force 

Base, is on the northwest edge of Rogers Dry Lake, a 44-

square-mile area used for aviation research and test operations. An additional 22 square miles of similar smooth clay 

surface is provided by nearby Rosamond Dry Lake. 

Edwards Air Force Base is located in California's Mojave 

Desert about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The two 

unique natural resources help make the base a premier flight 

test facility. 

Rogers Dry Lake is the largest of the two and has been used 

as the landing site for early Space Shuttle test and operational 

flights. Both lakebeds have been used for emergency and test 

landings of aircraft for more than 50 years. These natural flat 

surfaces have literally saved hundreds of aircrew lives and 

aircraft valued at millions of dollars because the lakebeds 

offer a broad expanse of hardened clay on which to land in 

emergency situations. 

Rogers Dry Lake has been declared a National Historic 

Landmark by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of 

Interior, because of its role in the development of the nation's 

space program and in the development of aerospace systems. 

The Dryden and Edwards complexes have been developed on 

the edge of Rogers Dry Lake. There are seven "drawn on" 

runways crisscrossing the surface of Rogers, with the longest 

extending 7 1/2 miles. 

The main Edwards concrete runway is also located next to 

Rogers Dry Lake and combining this runway's 15,000 foot 

length with a 9,000 foot lakebed overrun gives pilots with an 

inflight emergency one of the longest and safest runways in 

the world. Rosamond Dry Lake is also used for routine flight 

test and re-search operations and for emergency landings. 

The lakebeds are among the lowest points in the Antelope 

Valley and collect seasonal rain and snow runoff from surrounding hills and also from the San Gabriel Mountains to the 

south and Tehachapi Mountains to the west. 

At one time the lakebeds contained water the year round, but 

due to changing geographical and weather patterns are void of 

vegetation and contain water only after infrequent rains or 

snow falls. The flatness of the lakebeds was revealed following a measurement of the Rosamond lakebed surface which 

has a curvature of less than 18 inches over a distance of 

30,000 feet. 

Use by aircraft of Rogers and Rosamond lakebeds dates back 

to the early 1930s when Army Air Corps aircraft from what is 

now March Air Reserve Base, near Riverside, Calif., used the 

lakebeds as a staging area for bombing and gunnery practice. 

During World War II, facilities were established adjacent to 

Rogers Dry Lake, than called Muroc Dry Lake, to train 

bomber and fighter crews for duty overseas. 

During the early 1940s, a separate area at the north end of 

Rogers Dry Lake was chosen as the site to flight test the 

nation's first jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet. As the 

flight test program progressed, it became evident that the 

lakebed coupled with an average of 345 days a year of good 

flying weather was an ideal place for all phases of aircraft 

testing and permanent facilities began emerging. 

As flight testing at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) 

and NASA Dryden grew over the years, the natural surfaces 

of Rogers and Rosamond dry lakebeds took on even greater 

roles as sites for emergency landings, test and research. 

For additional information about the lakebeds at Edwards Air 

Force Base, contact AFFTC public affairs at (661) 277-3510 

(www.edwards.af.mil) or NASA Dryden public affairs at 

(661) 276-3449 or email pao@dfrc.nasa.gov. 

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