The two jets are highly modified Boeing 747s – N905NA was previously an American Airlines plane, N911NA was a surplus plane from Japan Airlines. Both aircraft retired in 2012. Their final flights ...

The two planes, designated N905NA and N911NA, were in operation for decades, until the Shuttle program was finally put to bed in 2011. Just like their spacecraft siblings, ...

Both N905NA and N911NA became famous for carrying space shuttles around, and they even look pretty similar. There’s one key difference though – N911NA has a slightly longer top deck. These two special ...

On July 18, 1974, NASA finalized the deal and acquired the 747, changing its registration to N905NA. Initially, the plane found use in wake vortex studies, but its primary purpose was yet to come. In ...

The 747 SCA N905NA and 911NA flying together in 2011. Photo: Carla Thomas – NASA. With the weight and aerodynamic drag of the “special cargo”, the 747 lost almost 2000 km of range, which forced the ...

Photo: John M via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0) esp busThe year is 1983, a period in which not only the Cold War was still taking place, but also the moment in which the United States had the NASA as a ...

N905NA The first Boeing 747 that NASA purchased was a -100 variant previously registered as N9668. According to Planespotters.net, American Airlines initially took delivery of this aircraft in October ...

On Apr. 27, Space Shuttle Enteprise, atop a NASA B747 SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft) N905NA, from Washington Dulles airport, using radio callsign “Bovic 15 Heavy”, flew over New York City as ...

Fifty years ago today, Boeing flight tested the first “Jumbo Jet”. Taller than a six-story building, the 747-100’s 195-foot wingspan was 75 feet wider than Orville Wright’s first flight at ...

It's tail number, N905NA earned it the nickname "NASA 905," and it is the largest preserved artifact from NASA's shuttle program. While many people have flown on airplanes, ...

Space Center Houston marked the 38th anniversary of the first free flight of a space shuttle (back on August 12, 1977) when Enterprise was recently released from atop shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905 ...