NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

Mission Profile

NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) were two modified Boeing 747-100 airliners (N905NA and N911NA) used to ferry Space Shuttle orbiters between Edwards Air Force Base, Kennedy Space Center, and other locations when the orbiters could not land at KSC. The distinctive configuration — with the orbiter mounted atop the 747's fuselage via three attach points and two vertical tail fins added for directional stability — first flew on 18 February 1977 with Enterprise for the Approach and Landing Tests. The SCAs transported orbiters after landings at Edwards and White Sands, and delivered the Enterprise to the 1984 World's Fair and subsequently to the Smithsonian. Both aircraft were retired with the Shuttle program in 2012, with N905NA now displayed at Space Center Houston and N911NA at the California Science Center.