Progress toward fully non-inductive operation in NSTX

Several machine and operational upgrades have been implemented on NSTX to improve MHD stability limits and increase pulse duration. H-modes induced during the plasma current ramp increase the central safety factor and decrease the internal inductance li. Reduced li allows stable operation with high elongation which can increase the poloidal beta and bootstrap fraction. Newly installed divertor coils now allow for high triangularity $>$ 0.7 to be achieved at high elongation $>$ 2.5, and this enhanced plasma shaping allows operation with small ELMs at high elongation. The combination of these improvements has resulted in record discharge pulse-lengths $>$ 1.5s in NSTX with normalized beta above 4 sustained for over 1s. In these scenarios, the peak non-inductive current fraction exceeds 70\% with 60\% of the current driven by the plasma pressure gradient. MHD stability, transport, and current profile evolution characteristics of these long-pulse plasmas will be described.