NASA’s Super Guppy lands at Stennis International Airport to deliver Orion component

September 30, 2015

NASA’s Super Guppy touched down at Stennis International Airport on Sept. 10 to offload the Orion EM-1 Crew Module Barrel for transporting by truck to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 

Michoud employees will use the crew barrel to further develop the crew module for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). SLS will carry the Orion Crew Vehicle along with cargo, equipment and science experiments into deep space. The Orion spacecraft will carry up to four astronauts on long-duration, deep space missions. Stennis Space Center is testing the RS-25 engines for use on the SLS.

NASA said the Guppy is expected to return to Stennis Airport for the delivery of more Orion components.

The unique aircraft has a hinged nose that opens 110 degrees to allow cargo loading from the front. It has been used to transport oversized cargo including multiple aircraft, Saturn rockets and International Space Station modules.

The Super Guppy is 144 feet long and has a wingspan of 156 feet. The cargo area is 25 feet in diameter and 111 feet long. Its cruise speed at 25,000 feet is 290 miles per hour. It is based at Johnson Space Center in Texas.

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