EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration 911, a Boeing 747-100SR, one of only two NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCAs), made its last flight from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base to the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility adjacent to Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The aircraft would be used for the cannibalization parts to keep NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), also based around a Boeing 747, flying,
NASA 911 (Boeing serial number 20781) made its first flight 31st of August 1973, registered as JA8817, and flew in commercial service for fifteen years. It was obtained by NASA in 1989 and turned over to Boeing for modification as the second Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The 747-100SR is a short-range, high-capacity airliner variant produced by Boeing for Japan Air Lines. It was strengthened to handle the additional takeoffs and landings of short-duration flights. Additional structural support was built into the fuselage, wings and landing gear, while the fuel capacity was reduced 20% from that of the standard 747-100. Seven were built between 1973 and 1975. It is 231 feet, 10.2 inches long with a wingspan of 195 feet, 8 inches and overall height of 63 feet, 5 inches (19.329 meters). Its empty weight is 323,034 pounds and maximum takeoff weight 710,000 pounds.