Houston, you have a space shuttle ... carrier aircraft. <\/p>\n
NASA's original jumbo jet, which was used to ferry the space shuttles around the country, has landed at Ellington Field in Houston, where it is to stay. <\/p>\n
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), often referred to using its tail number, NASA 905, was most recently used to fly space shuttle Endeavour to Los Angeles in September. The 747 jetliner was seen by millions of people as it made its way from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to California, where it performed a scenic flyover of the state with Endeavour riding piggyback. <\/p>\n
After Endeavour was offloaded, the SCA took off from Los Angeles International Airport, without fanfare, on what was reported to be its final flight: a 20 minute trip to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. There, it was to join its sister SCA, NASA 911, as a parts donor for another of NASA's 747 jetliner-based programs, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). [Gallery: Ferry Flight in Photos] <\/p>\n
Then a flight plan was filed for Ellington Field. NASA 905 was flown to Houston on Oct. 24, just in time for it be on hand for the Wings Over Houston Air Show. The rumor on the flight line was that the public display was a preview of things to come. <\/p>\n
The rumors were right. <\/p>\n
\"SCA pilots Jeff Moultrie and Bill Rieke and long-time SCA flight engineer Henry Taylor from NASA's Johnson Space Center flew the modified Boeing 747 jetliner from Dryden to Ellington Airport in southeast Houston Oct. 24, where the big Boeing jet will be retired and eventually placed on public display,\" a statement on NASA's website confirmed this month. <\/p>\n
How, when and where NASA 905 will be exhibited is still to be announced -- if not also still to be decided. Houston was not awarded one of the retired flown shuttle orbiters that the SCA carried, but Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for Johnson Space Center, exhibits a full size, high-fidelity orbiter mockup. <\/p>\n
Regardless of the details, the decision to display the aircraft ensures its history will be preserved. <\/p>\n
An early-model 747-123 version, NASA 905 was the 86th 747 built, rolling out in 1970 and making its first flight on Oct. 15 of that year. After serving as a flagship jetliner for American Airlines for several years, the jumbo jet was acquired by Johnson Space Center in 1974 for use by the coming space shuttle program. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Continued here:<\/p>\n
NASA Space shuttle-carrying jet lands for good<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Houston, you have a space shuttle ... carrier aircraft. Continue reading