January 2016
This was a rare opportunity to photograph a Super Guppy in flight as it delivered NASA hardware to Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale facility. First flown in 1965, five of these unique aircraft were built by Aero Spacelines and used for transporting outsized cargo. NASA and Airbus used them extensively and Airbus built two more from scratch (after buying the type certificate) to support airliner fuselage production transportation. This one, operated by NASA and the only flyable Super Guppy, is an ex-Airbus aircraft that was provided to NASA in 1997 as barter for Space Shuttle launch services. Nikon D7100 w/80-400mm, processed with Aperture and Macphun CK Suite.