Super Guppy Turbine cargo aircraft. Flight and ground crews preparing NASA's B377SGT, the Super Guppy Turbine cargo aircraft. This outsized cargo plane, flown since 1980 and acquired by NASA in 1997, replaced earlier Guppy aircraft dating back to the 1960s. The Guppies are designed to carry large loads such as other aircraft and space station components. This one was transporting the Orion spacecraft's heat shield to the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. Developed by NASA, with a test flight taking place in 2014, the first Orion crewed launches are scheduled for around 2023. Photographed on 4 December 2013, at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, New Hampshire, USA. |