Aircraft List
The NASA Airborne Science Program provides a unique set of NASA supported aircraft that benefit the earth science community. These manned and unmanned aircraft carry the sensors that provide data to support and augment NASA spaceborne missions.
Reminder: All investigators with approved or pending proposals from the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) announcements that have a requirement for a NASA Airborne Science platform/instrument, must submit a Flight Request. The Flight Request is also the method to acquire an estimate if your proposal requires a cost estimate for Airborne Science support. However, for investigators proposing to participate on large, multi-aircraft experiments, a single Flight Request will be submitted for each mission by the Project Manager or Project Scientist. The Science Operations Flight Request System (SOFRS) can be reached directly at https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/sofrs.
Non-NASA Aircraft
NASA instrumentation may fly on non-NASA Federal aircraft as well as academic and commercial platforms for which agreements for access by SMD investigators are in place, in process, or have recently been approved by NASA Aviation Management as airworthy and safe to operate. For more information, please review the current ASP Call Letter for further requirements and guidance. Please note that in addition to filing the required Flight Request, investigators are responsible for contacting vendors to determine if the platform meets the requirements of the proposed scientific investigation. It is also the responsibility of the investigator to ensure that before any preliminary test flights or actual data collection flights utilizing NASA personnel, instruments or funds occur, all vendors successfully complete a NASA airworthiness/flight safety review in accordance with NASA Aviation Safety Policy for Non-NASA Aircraft.
P-3 Orion - WFF
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) Aircraft Office operates the NASA Airborne Science Program's P-3 Orion (N426NA). The P-3 is a self-sufficient, four-engine turboprop aircraft designed for endurance and range. This aircraft operates out of civilian and military airfields supporting scientific research in remote areas of the world. WFF has operated the P-3 since 1991 for a wide range of scientific activities, including ecology, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, cryospheric research, oceanography, soil science, biology, and satellite calibration/validation. The P-3 is also used as a technology test bed for new airborne and satellite instrumentation.
The P-3 has been extensively modified to support airborne scientific research. Features include zenith ports, three nadir ports (aft of the wings), and seven P-3 and DC-8 style windows that have been modified to provide externally mounted experiments. Additionally, there is a tail cone port, nose radome port, and ten mounting locations on the wings. Most of the fuselage ports are contained within the pressurized cabin environment while a custom fairing allows the unpressurized bomb bay to be converted into experimenter ports. This fairing creates two large nadir ports and several oblique ports for large sensors and antennas. Dropsonde and sonobuoy deployment systems are also available.
The P-3 is an all-weather aircraft with modern avionics. Along with an upgraded cockpit, the P-3 has an Airborne Science Program network providing data and video throughout the cabin. This data system is connected to two satellite constellations providing uplink/downlink capability, internet access, flight tracking, and instant messaging between other aircraft and ground assets. Several sensors are connected to the data system to provide meteorological and aircraft positional data to researchers.
The GSFC/WFF Aircraft Office is committed to providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective platforms for airborne research.
* The performance numbers presented below are based on a 135,000lb Maximum Normal Take Off Weight. However, 139,760lbs is the Maximum Take Off Weight.
** Airspeed indicated below is Knots Indicated Airspeed (KIAS).
Owner/Operator:
NASA GSFC Wallops Flight Facility
Type:
Conventional Aircraft
Duration:
10.0 hours (payload and weather dependent)
Useful Payload:
18,000 lbs
Gross Take-off Weight:
135,000 lbs
Onboard Operators:
24 (including flight crew)
Max Altitude:
30,000 feet (payload weight and weather dependent)
Air Speed:
300 knots
Range:
3,500 Nmi
Power:
90KVA of 115VAC 60Hz single phase & 400Hz 3 phase; 28V DC
NASA SMD User Fee per Hour:
$3500
Point(s) of Contact:
Individual Aircraft Details:
N426NA (NASA426) based at WFF
Year built: 1966
Year entered ASP service: 1991
