1981—STS-1, first flight of the Space Shuttle, a partially reusable space vehicle. First flown aerodynamic winged vehicle to reenter from space, employing technologies developed over 30 years.

1981–Ongoing—ER-2 high-altitude aircraft is used for atmospheric research, observation, and mapping.

1981–1990—X-29 Flight Research Aircraft demonstrated forward swept wing technology and provided data on aeroelastic tailoring, active controls, and canard effects. First flight was December 14, 1984.

1984—“Riblets,” or small V-shaped grooves, were discovered to reduce aerodynamic drag. This technology has been used on many aircraft and sailing vessels.

1984—National Transonic Facility (NTF) became operational. It enables experimentation at full-scale flight Reynolds number by testing in super-cold (cryogenic) environment.

1985–1989—Mission Adaptive Wing (MAW) was tested on flight F-111 ATFI. The wing of the F-111 was modified so that the curvature of the leading and trailing edges could be varied in flight.

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