NASA Boeing 747 SCA Fleet History (1977-2012)

***NOTE: RE-UPLOADED FROM MY OLD CHANNEL***
Eyo and welcome to my Fleet Histories series where we take a look at the operational history of aircraft fleets both active and retired. Passenger airliners are normally featured, although freighter and government aircraft will be covered occasionally. This series was inspired by the videos of elmauriplatense, Ibirdball, Scaring Crab, and many other aviation Youtubers.

NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) were conceived for transporting Space Shuttle orbiters from their landing sites to the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Lockheed's C-5 Galaxy was initially intended for this role, but it was rejected in favor of the Boeing 747 in 1976. The first SCA, N905NA, was a 747-100 purchased from American Airlines in 1974 for use in wake vortex research before being converted to SCA configuration in 1976. NASA 905 released the Space Shuttle Enterprise during mid-air during atmospheric and approach tests conducted in 1977. Another 747, an SR variant, was purchased from Japan Airlines in 1988 as a backup aircraft. It was converted to SCA configuration in 1990 and flew its first Shuttle ferry flight with Endeavour in 1991. These aircraft remained in operation until the Space Shuttle orbiters were retired in 2012.

Intro video: Space Shuttle Enterprise 1st Test Flight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHYhTFn45nU
Outro video: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcI1e4KiDv0

Photo sources: NASA, Google Images, Wikimedia Commons, Airliners.net, flyteam.jp, JetPhotos

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Видео NASA Boeing 747 SCA Fleet History (1977-2012) канала Retro Aviator