Airborne Science Program
NASA's Airborne Science Program is administered from the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California. The program supports the sub-orbital flight requirements of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Dryden maintains and operates two ER-2 high-altitude "satellite simulator" aircraft and a DC-8 which is specially configured as a "flying laboratory" in service from 1987 to May 2024.
The scientific disciplines that employ these aircraft include Earth sciences, astronomy, atmospheric chemistry, climatology, oceanography, archeology, ecology, forestry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology, volcanology and biology. The DC-8 and ER-2 are also important tools for the development of sensors intended to fly aboard future Earth-observing satellites, and to validate and calibrate the sensors which are used onboard satellites which currently orbit the Earth.
01NASA research aircraft types operated
Present
| Aircraft | Number in service | Introduced | Research Center |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonnell Douglas DC-8 | 1 | 1987 (end in 2024) | Armstrong Flight Research Center |
| Lockheed ER-2 | 2 | 1981 | Armstrong Flight Research Center |
| Gulfstream C-20A | 1 | 2008 | Armstrong Flight Research Center |
| Gulfstream III | 1 | 2012 | Johnson Space Center |
| Gulfstream III | 1 | 2012 | Langley Research Center |
| Gulfstream V | 1 | 2012 | Johnson Space Center |
| Lockheed P-3 Orion | 1 | 1991 | Wallops Flight Facility |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Airborne Science Program”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Lockheed ER-2 709 taking off from Dryden.jpg by NASA/Tony Landis, Public domain
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