A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A NASA craft sits adjacent a runway astatine Ellington Airport aft making a belly landing connected Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, successful Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A Nasa probe craft made an exigency landing successful Texas connected Tuesday aft a mechanical occupation prevented its landing cogwheel from deploying. The level landed astatine Ellington Airport adjacent Houston and slid on the runway connected its belly.
Videos shared connected societal media showed sparks, flames and fume coming from nether the craft arsenic it came to a stop. Nasa said the aircraft’s unit landed safely and nary injuries were reported. The abstraction bureau confirmed determination was a mechanical contented and said an probe would beryllium carried out. The craft progressive was a Nasa WB-57, a high-altitude probe level with 2 unit members. The level is designed to alert astatine precise precocious altitudes and tin enactment airborne for much than six hours.
Local tv footage showed the craft stopped connected the runway with its cockpit hatch open. Fire trucks and exigency teams were seen astatine the site, moving astir the aircraft. The WB-57 has been utilized by Nasa for probe missions since the 1970s and remains portion of the agency’s technological fleet.