The NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Florida is the operational home of Starfighters, Inc.'s fleet of Lockheed F-104 Starfighters. The F-104 is a supersonic, mid to high alititude, fighter aircraft capable of sustained high positive acceleration loads (Gz) and rapid climbs from sea level to altitudes in excess of 40,000ft. Under a cooperative Space Act Agreement the company has flown a varied array of test missions ranging from NASA sponsored Pathfinder Trajectories for Orbital and Sub-Orbital Flight Environmental Impact Studies, Autonomous Flight Safety Systems with INS and GPS Termination Measuring payloads & Station High Sensitivity Ocean Research Experiments using Multi-Spectral Filter Array Imagers.
Starfighter F-104G
Owner/Operator
Starfighters, Inc.
Type
Conventional Aircraft
Duration
1.0 hours (payload and weather dependent)
Useful Payload
4,000 lbs
Gross Take-off Weight
20,800 lbs
Onboard Operators
1 pilot
Max Altitude
45,000ft (65,000ft+ with Pressure Suit Modification).
Air Speed
1,458 knots
Range
700 Nmi
Power
115 / 200 Volt, 3-Phase Variable Frequency (320 to 520 Hz)