Military and Cargo Aircraft

Images of significant aircraft like the IL-76MD and NASA's Shuttle Carrier, emphasizing their roles in military and space transport.

An Italian Air Force KC-767A tanker taxiing at Pratica di Mare Air Base, Italy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA pilot Jeff Moultrie guides the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft along the apron of the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discoverys ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

A left front view of a Soviet IL-76MD Candid-B aircraft. The aircraft has stopped at the base while en route to an air show in Canada. Base: Elmendorf Air Force Base State: Alaska (AK) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft descends toward the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The aircraft carried a Pegasus XL Rocket with eight NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, for launch. With the aircraft flying off shore, the Pegasus rocket was released. Five seconds later, the solid propellant engine ignited and boosted the eight hurricane observatories to orbit. The eight CYGNSS satellites will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. Release of the Pegasus XL rocket occurred at 8:37 a.m. EST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, parks at the ramp area at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida. The SCA touched down at 5:05 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Endeavours ferry flight to the Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 17.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft comes to a stop on the apron of the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discoverys ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare to tow a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to the mate-demate device for mating with space shuttle Discovery. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a Boeing 747 jet originally manufactured for commercial use, which was modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. Discoverys new home will be the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

low angle Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes 747 runway white

low angle Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes 747 white runway

An Italian Air Force KC-767A tanker taxiing at Pratica di Mare Air Base, Italy.

An-124 Ruslan heavy transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - The SciSat-1 payload, with fairing installed and attached to its Pegasus launch vehicle, arrives at the pad for mating to the L-1011 carrier aircraft. The SciSat-1 weighs approximately 330 pounds and after launch will be placed in a 400-mile-high polar orbit to investigate processes that control the distribution of ozone in the upper atmosphere. The data from the satellite will provide Canadian and international scientists with improved measurements relating to global ozone processes and help policymakers assess existing environmental policy and develop protective measures for improving the health of our atmosphere, preventing further ozone depletion. The mission is designed to last two years.

NASAs DC-8 aircraft at Carlos Ibanez International Airport in Punta Arenas, Chile. A portion of AirSAR hardware is visible on the left rear fuselage. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct.

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft carrying space shuttle Discovery is on the ramp of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Earlier, the duo backed out of the mate-demate device. Known as the MDD, the device is a large gantry-like steel structure used to hoist a shuttle off the ground and position it onto the back of the aircraft, or SCA. The SCA is a Boeing 747 jet that was originally manufactured for commercial use and modified by NASA to transport the shuttles between destinations on Earth. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 905 is scheduled to ferry Discovery to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on April 17, after which the shuttle will be placed on display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

The Antonov 124 cargo aircraft, carrying the United Launch Alliance booster for NASAs Mars Perseverance rover, taxis off the runway at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida on May 18, 2020. The Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to launch in mid-July atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket from Pad 41 at CCAFS. The rover is part of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the Red Planet. The rover will search for habitable conditions in the ancient past and signs of past microbial life on Mars. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft approaches the apron of the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discoverys ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

SOFIA visit to Ames Landing and taxi to tower

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Skid Strip the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft is being prepared to launch NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. The eight micro satellites are aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket strapped to the underside of the Stargazer. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft taxies on the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 13, 2022. The SOFIA aircraft is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a reflecting telescope. It allowed astronomers to study the solar system and beyond in ways that are not possible with ground-based telescopes.

NASAs Super Guppy aircraft, carrying the Orion spacecraft, lands at Kennedy Space Centers Launch and Landing Facility runway in Florida on March 25, 2020. Orion has returned to Kennedy after testing at the agencys Plum Brook Station in Ohio verified the spacecraft can handle the extreme conditions of a deep-space environment. The spacecraft will now undergo final testing and assembly prior to being integrated with the Space Launch System rocket. Orion will fly on the agencys Artemis I mission - the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

JUNO - CENTAUR STAGE ARRIVAL

National Airlines, Douglas Super DC-8-61 Commercial Airplane In-Flight, 1960's

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery, mounted to a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, slowly rolls out to the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The duo is set to begin their 3 1/2 hour ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia at about 7 a.m. EDT. Discovery is leaving Kennedy after more than 28 years of service beginning with its arrival on the space coast Nov. 9, 1983. Discovery first launched to space Aug. 30, 1984, on the STS-41D mission. Discovery is the agency's most-flown shuttle with 39 missions, more than 148 million miles and a total of one year in space. Discovery is set to move to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on April 19 where it will be placed on public display.

low angle Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes 747 runway white

Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes Airlines takeoff runway

DF-ST-85-11868. Base: Offutt Air Force Base State: Nebraska (NE) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An-124 Ruslan heavy transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force taking off.

AN-124 aircraft used by NATO to transfer heavy equipment, Leipzig, Germany.

low angle Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes 747 runway white

The Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft has arrived at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Attached beneath the Stargazer is the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL with NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) on board. CYGNSS was processed and prepared for its mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

Sportscars competing in the illegal car-race "Gumball 3000" are loaded into two Antonov cargo-aircrafts. Frankfurt/Hahn, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Europe

An-124 Ruslan military transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force taking off.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- An L-1011 aircraft called the Stargazer lands at the Skid Strip, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Underneath its belly it carries the Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL launch vehicle with the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) attached. The Pegasus XL will launch the HESSI no earlier than June 12 from CCAFS. The primary mission of HESSI is to explore the basic physics of particle acceleration and energy release in solar flares

Thai internationally Airways Boeing 747-400 takes off from the Frankfurt airport, Hessen, Germany.

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) returns to NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 on Aug. 11 after a productive month of science flights out of Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand.

Moments after sunrise, the modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft carrying the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first leg of its ferry flight back to the Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 10, 2008.

NASA's DC-8 Airborne Science research aircraft, in new colors and markings, takes off Feb. 24, 2004. Dark panels on lower fuselage are synthetic aperture radar antennas enabling sophisticated studies of Earth features.

. Boeings MD-90 aircraft flies from Victorville California to Palmdale, California on August 15, 2023. This aircraft will be NASAs future Sustainable Flight Demonstrator. Modifications to the aircraft will include changes to the fuselage and most notably the use of a transonic truss-braced wing.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft begins rolling for takeoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Under its wing is NASAs Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft and Pegasus XL rocket. Departing from Kwajalein, the Pegasus rocket will be dropped from under the wing of the L-1011 over the Pacific Ocean to carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. Then, the spacecrafts own engine will boost it to its final high-altitude orbit (about 200,000 miles high) — most of the way to the Moon. The IBEX satellite will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. IBEX science will be led by the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Texas. IBEX is targeted for launch over the Pacific Oct. 19.

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NASA's Super Guppy transport plane transports the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion heat shield from Manchester, NH to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 4, 2013. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Congressional Delegation Oversight Visit - 26-HK-7-144. USA aircraft preparing to depart from ATC ramp. Hurricane Katrina

990505-F-0966E-001. Subject Operation/Series: SUSTAIN HOPE Base: Mcguire Air Force Base State: New Jersey (NJ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a Volga-Dnepr Antonov AN-124-100, Ukranian/Russian cargo aircraft has landed on the Skid Strip. The aircraft is delivering the Centaur upper stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

Two large science aircraft, a DC-8 flying laboratory and the SOFIA 747SP, are based at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - Technicians and engineers at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California mate the Pegasus XL rocket with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS, solar observatory to the Orbital Sciences L-1011 carrier aircraft.Scheduled for launch from Vandenberg on June 26, 2013, IRIS will open a new window of discovery by tracing the flow of energy and plasma through the chromospheres and transition region into the suns corona using spectrometry and imaging. The IRIS mission will observe how solar material moves, gathers energy and heats up as it travels through a largely unexplored region of the solar atmosphere. The interface region, located between the sun's visible surface and upper atmosphere, is where most of the sun's ultraviolet emission is generated. These emissions impact the near-Earth space environment and Earth's climate.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's U.S. Air Force E-4B aircraft is refueled by KC-135 Stratotankers, assigned to the 50th Expeditionary Air Refueling squadron and the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling squadron within the CENTCOM area of responsibility.

LEEUWARDEN, THE NETHERLANDS - JUNE 10: Air Force Gulfstream Aerospace C-20H Gulfstream IV during the Dutch Air Force Open House. June 10, 2016 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Total Force - The Super Guppy made a VERY rare stop at Tinker Air Force Base today for some gas on its way to Florida. The NASA aircraft was delivering an Orion Heatshield for a mission expected a few years from now.

The Spirit of Portsmouth, a KC-46A assigned to the 157th Air Refueling Wing, sits in the evening sunlight on the ramp at Joint Base Elmondorf-Richardson, Alaska, June 30, 2022. The plane was in Alaska to receive its patriotic new paint job at the 176th Wing's 36,000 square-foot paint booth, one of the largest in the Department of Defense.

Aviation Training Center - 26-HK-290-12. Hurricane Katrina

NASAs DC-8 aircraft prior to launch from Carlos Ibanez International Airport in Punta Arenas, Chile, during AirSAR 2004. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition in Central and South America by an international team of scientists that is using an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), located onboard NASA's DC-8 airborne laboratory. Scientists from many parts of the world are combining ground research with NASA's AirSAR technology to improve and expand on the quality of research they are able to conduct.

021120-N-0780F-001. Base: Souda Harbor State: Crete Country: Greece (GRC)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The Russian AH-124-100 aircraft arrives at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's skid strip in Florida carrying the Centaur stage of the Atlas V rocket that will launch NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. The two spacecraft will be integrated with the Atlas V and tested for final flight worthiness. Launch is scheduled for the spring. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a Volga-Dnepr Antonov AN-124-100, Ukranian/Russian cargo aircraft has landed on the Skid Strip. The aircraft is delivering the Centaur upper stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.NASA's Juno spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard the Atlas V from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Aug. 5.The solar-powered spacecraft will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere and investigate the existence of a solid planetary core.

Congressional Delegation Oversight Visit - 26-HK-7-149. USA aircraft preparing to depart from ATC ramp. Hurricane Katrina

A left side view of the Boeing 707 aircraft of the Romanian airline ROMAVIA used to transport the Romanian president to the U.S. to participate in the opening ceremonies for the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Base: Naval Air Facility, Andrews Afb State: Maryland (MD) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft prepares to land on the flightline at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 13, 2022. The SOFIA made its final flight from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California, to DM and is scheduled to be displayed at the Pima Air and Space Museum January 2023.

A Boeing 747 airplane approaching a gate at Taiwan Airport.

The KC-46A Pegasus development program completed its first flight of Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) aircraft #1 Dec. 28, 2014. The maiden flight took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington and landed at Boeing Field, Seattle.

An air-to-air side view of a 438th Airlift Wing, C-141 Starlifter, flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The C-141, tail #70166, with a white painted fuselage is used to transport senior civilian and military officials. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Base: Mcguire Air Force Base State: New Jersey (NJ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft has been closed and secured at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) structural test article is secured inside the Super Guppy and will be transported to Lockheed Martin's Denver facility for testing. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASAs Space Launch System rocket on EM-1, its first deep space mission.

Congressional Delegation Oversight Visit - 26-HK-7-145. USA aircraft preparing to depart from ATC ramp. Hurricane Katrina

NASA Dryden's DC-8 on the ramp at Jaun Santamaria International Airport, San Jose, Costa Rica during the AirSAR 2004 campaign. AirSAR 2004 is a three-week expedition by an international team of scientists that will use an all-weather imaging tool, called the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR), in a mission ranging from the tropical rain forests of Central America to frigid Antarctica.

Air to air side view of Air Mobility Command's 375th Military Airlift Wing's C-9 Nightingale aeromed evacuation aircraft flying with a C-21 Lear and C-12 Huron support airlift aircraft on a training mission near Scott AFB, Illinois. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Unknown

Boeing 747 400 of the airline Air India before takeoff, in Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany, Europe

Super Guppy arrival and (MBB) Multi-Bay Box Delivery ; Super Guppy arrival and MBB Delivery: super Guppy arrival at NASA Langley hangar, and unloading of (MBB) multi-bay box, transport of MBB to COLTS and move into building 1256.

The Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft has arrived at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Attached beneath the Stargazer is the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL with NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) on board. CYGNSS was processed and prepared for its mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

low angle Jets Fixed Wing Commercial Boeing Aviat Airplanes 747 white runway

SOFIA visit to Ames Landing and taxi to tower

MPLM Transfer to Super Guppy. The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), used during the Space Shuttle Program to transfer cargo to and from the International Space Station, is loaded into NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2023. The MPLM will be transported to Ellington Field in Houston, where it will then be transported by road to Axioms facility near Ellington to be utilized to further commercialization of space. Three MPLMs were built by Thales Alenia Space Italia (TASI) for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and named after Italian masters (Leonardo, Raffaello, and Donatello). Only two ever flew to the space station, Leonardo and Raffaello, with Axiom intending to use the Raffaello module as a future element that will attach to a segment being built by the company for addition to the station.

The Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft has arrived at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Attached beneath the Stargazer is the Orbital ATK Pegasus XL with NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) on board. CYGNSS was processed and prepared for its mission at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. CYGNSS is scheduled for its airborne launch aboard the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip on Dec. 12. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility, the remote manipulator system for the Japanese Experiment Module has been offloaded from the Antonov 124 aircraft onto a truck bed. The RMS will be transported to the Space Station Processing Facility. The JEM, named "Kibo" (Hope), is Japan's primary contribution to the International Space Station. It will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency developed the laboratory. Both the JEM and RMS are targeted for mission STS-124, to launch in early 2008.

The Antonov cargo aircraft touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 6, 2018, carrying the European Service Module (ESM) for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). The ESM, built by the European Space Agency, will supply the main propulsion system and power to the Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), a mission to the Moon. The ESM also will house air and water for astronauts on future missions. EM-1 will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration to destinations beyond Earth orbit. EM-1 will be the first integrated test of NASA's Space Launch System, Orion and the ground systems at Kennedy.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Painted graphics line the side of NASA 905 depicting the various ferry flights the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft has supported during the Space Shuttle Program. The names of the pilots and flight engineers who have flown the aircraft also are listed.The aircraft, known as an SCA, is at Kennedy to prepare for shuttle Discoverys ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. The SCA is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va.

A Military Command contracted Tower Airlines 747 jumbo jet taxis in at Norton AFB, California. Exact Date Shot Unknown. Country: Unknown

Jets on runway

USA, California, Los Angeles, Westchester, LAX, President Obama arrives in Southern California on Air Force One, Boeing VC-25A, modified version of Boeing's 747-200B, here seen seconds before touchdown at the Los Angeles International Airport

970908-N-0366M-001. Base: Louisville State: Kentucky (KY) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The government plane A340 of the Flugbereitschaft stands defective at the airport BER in Berlin, 15.05.2023. The plane was supposed to take Foreign Minister Baerbock to Saudi Arabia and Qatar for a three-day trip., Berlin, Germany, Europe

An IL-76MD-M upgraded transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force taking off.

With landing gear extended, the NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infared Astronomy (SOFIA) 747SP cruises over central Texas on its first checkout flight.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- STS-133 Commander Steve Lindsey, foreground aircraft, and Pilot Eric Boe are ready to take off and perform touch-and-go landings aboard two Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. STAs are Gulfstream II business jets that are modified to mimic the shuttle's handling during the final phase of landing. Practice landings are part of standard training before space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station.Scheduled to lift off Feb. 24 at 4:50 p.m. EST, Discovery and its six-member crew will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost.

Oman Air, Airbus A330-343X, in flight

Nose of Supersonic Tu-144LL

NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory has become the first science aircraft to be based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

A VC-137 Stratoliner aircraft stands on the flight line after transporting Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney and GEN. Colin Powell, chairman, Joint Chiefs of STAFF, to the region for a conference regarding U.S. military intervention against Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM Country: Saudi Arabia(SAU)

A319 airliner of the Hungarian Air Force in Dresden, Germany.

An Air France Concorde aircraft with registration F-BVFF at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport in Paris, France, Europe

Super Guppy

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, or SCA, rolls beneath space shuttle Endeavour, suspended in the mate-demate device at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will be lowered and connected to the top of the SCA with the aid of the device. The shuttle has been fitted with an aerodynamic tailcone for its upcoming ferry flight. The SCA, a modified 747 jetliner, will fly Endeavour to Los Angeles where it will be placed on public display at the California Science Center. This is the final ferry flight scheduled in the Space Shuttle Program era.

Yuri's Night at Ames a celebration of the first human in space

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- NASA's "Super Guppy" aircraft arrives at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility after leaving Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The gargantuan plane carries the U.S. Laboratory module, considered the centerpiece of the International Space Station. The module will undergo final pre-launch preparations at KSC's Space Station Processing Facility. Scheduled for launch aboard the Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-98, the laboratory comprises three cylindrical sections with two end cones. Each end-cone contains a hatch opening for entering and exiting the lab. The lab will provide a shirtsleeve environment for research in such areas as life science, microgravity science, Earth science and space science. Designated Flight 5A, this mission is targeted for launch in early 2000

Orion's European Service Module is loaded on the Antonov airplane in Bremen, Germany on Nov. 5, 2018 for transport to Kennedy Space Center...For the first time, NASA will use a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft, extending the international cooperation of the International Space Station into deep space. The European Service Module is a unique collaboration across space agencies and industry including ESAs prime contractor, Airbus, and 10 European countries. The completion of service module work in Europe and shipment to Kennedy signifies a major milestone toward NASAs human deep space exploration missions to the Moon and beyond.

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