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Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)

NASA uses two modified Boeing 747 jetliners, originally manufactured for commercial use, as Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). One is a 747-100 model, while the other is designated a 747-100SR (short range). The two aircraft are identical in appearance and in their performance as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

The SCAs are used to ferry space shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation.

DFRC Photo # Photo Date Image Description
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ED06-0202-076 October 28, 2006 Crowds thronged around NASA's modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and an Air Force B-1B Lancer at the Edwards Air Force Base open house Oct. 28-29, 2006.
ED06-0202-020 October 28, 2006 A brief tour through NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft was a popular attraction at the Edwards Air Force Base open house Oct. 28-29, 2006.
ED06-0202-001 October 28, 2006 One of NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is silhouetted against the morning sky at sunrise on the ramp at Edwards Air Force Base.
EC01-0032-02 February 13, 2001 The sun begins to break through the clouds over NASA's two 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the NASA Dryden ramp after a rain shower in February 2001.
EC99-45007-10 May 1999 One of NASA's Two Modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier (SCA) Aircraft in Flight over NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
EC95-43339-03 November 8, 1995 NASA's two modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft #911 (left) and #905 (right) were nose-to-nose on the ramp at NASA Dryden in this 1995 photo.
EC95-43339-01 November 8, 1995 The NASA logo on a hangar is framed by the noses of NASA's two modified 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on the ramp at NASA Dryden in this 1995 photo.


Last Modified: November 20, 2006
Responsible NASA Official: Marty Curry
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