Space Shuttle Atlantis departs Edwards Air Force Base, July 1, 2007 |
The Space Shuttle Atlantis departed from Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base on 747 Carrier Aircraft NASA Nine Zero Five at 6:04 A.M. PDT Sunday, July 1, 2007. It is returning to the Kennedy Space Center. It landed at Rick Husband Amarillo International airport, Texas two hours later. It continued to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, arriving at 2:46 PM CDT. It departed from Offut AFB at 7:43 AM CDT on Monday, July 2 and landed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky at 9:14 AM CDT. It departed from Fort Campbell at 5:15 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 3 and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center at 8:24 AM EDT.
NASA's Douglas DC-0-32 N932NA served as a weather pathfinder for the shuttle. The pathfinder flies ahead of the 747-SCA to observe weather conditions, particularly turbulence and rain. It took off from Runway 22 at 5:57 AM PDT, shortly after sunrise.
DC-9-32 N932NA is used for zero-G training. It flies in parabolic ballistic trajectories to provide about a half minute of zero-G at a time. It flew to Edwards Air Force Base from its home base at Ellington Field, Texas on Thursday, June 28.
DC-9-32 N932NA carries construction number 47476. It was delivered to KLM as PH-DNZ on February 6, 1970. Douglas registered it in the United States as N2679T on December 11, 1981. VIASA leased it on January 27, 1982 and operated it as YV-139C. It was returned to Douglas and registered as N907DC on February 12, 1983. The United States Navy assigned it BuNo 162754 on June 27, 1983 and named it City of Anacortes. NASA acquired it in January 2004.
Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, N905NA taxis to Runway 22 with Atlantis.
Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, N905NA flies under the call sign NASA Nine Zero Five. It is 37 years old. It was originally American Airlines 747-123, N9668. Its Boeing construction number is 20107. It made its first flight on October 15, 1970, and was delivered to American Airlines two weeks later. NASA acquired it on July 18, 1974.
You can buy framed prints or greeting cards of this photograph.
Thirty years earlier: 747-SCA N905NA takes off with Enterprise at the beginning of the first Approach and Landing Test (ALT-1) on August 12, 1977. The American Airlines heritage of the 747-SCA was still apparent.
More pictures from previous Space Shuttle events.
You can buy a 2010 calendar featuring my photographs of Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
A dozen photos of 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Events depicted include:
747-SCA N905NA/Enterprise Approach and Landing Test 1 take-off on August 12, 1977.
747-SCA N905NA/Enterprise Approach and Landing Test 4 rollout and take-off on October 12, 1977.
747-SCA N905NA/Columbia delivery take-off on March 20, 1979.
747-SCA N905NA/Challenger static and departure take-off on July 4, 1982.
747-SCA N911NA/Endeavor delivery take-off from Palmdale on May 2, 1991.
747-SCA N905NA/Columbia landing at Palmdale on September 25, 1999.
747-SCA N905NA/Discovery take-off on November 2, 2000.
747-SCA N905NA/Atlantis take-off on July 1, 2007.
747-SCA N911NA/Endeavor take-off on December 10, 2008.
747-SCA N911NA/Discovery take-off on September 20, 2009.
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Coulson Flying Tankers Martin JRM C-FLYL Hawaii Mars, Lake Elsinore, California, October 27, 2007
Lockheed C-5B Galaxy 87-0039, Travis Air Force Base, August 8, 1998
Boeing 747-123 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft N905NA/Atlantis, Edwards Air Force Base, July 7, 2007
NASA Boeing 747SP-21, N747NA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), Boron, California, May 31, 2007
Volga-Dnepr Antonov An-124 Ruslan RA82045, Victorville, California, March 14, 2006
China Airlines Boeing 747-409 B-18210 Dreamliner, Los Angeles International Airport, March 2, 2006
Antonov An-225 Mriya UR82060, Zhukovsky, Russia, September 3, 1993
Evergreen International 747-273C Supertanker, N470EV, San Bernardino, California, May 31, 2006
United Boeing 777-222 N222UA, Los Angeles International Airport, November 29, 2007
Air Tahiti Nui Airbus A340-313E F-OLOV, Los Angeles International Airport, March 2, 2006
China Eastern Airlines Airbus A340-642 B-6052, Los Angeles International Airport, February 28, 2006
Airbus A380-841 F-WWJB, Los Angeles International Airport, November 29, 2007
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Books and Videos about the Space Shuttle from Amazon.com |
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Visit the Lockett Books Amazon Webstore for a selection of aviation and space related books and DVDs. |
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