@ Palmdale, CA
March 2017
In 1988, NASA procured a surplus 747SR from Japan Airlines to be the second Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). It entered service with NASA in 1990, after undergoing the necessary structural modifications, and was first used in 1991 to ferry the new shuttle Endeavour from Palmdale to the Kennedy Space Center. This NASA aircraft was retired on February 8, 2012 and was used as a source of parts for NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft, another modified Boeing 747. It is now preserved and on display here at the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark under a long-term loan to the city from NASA. The first SCA is on display at Space Center Houston with the mockup shuttle Independence mounted on its back. Nikon D500 w/18-200mm.
