Inside NASA's Super Guppy

The massive cargo aircraft was designed in the 1960s specifically to handle oversized loads, like the body sections of the Saturn V rocket.

Meg Godlewski

Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 03:31 PM ET

Verified

In November 2019, NASA's Super Guppy arrived at Mansfield Lahm Airport with the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I aboard. [Credit: NASA/Bridget Caswell]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft was instrumental in the Apollo program, designed to transport oversized components like Saturn V rocket sections across the U.S.
It drastically reduced the transport time for rocket parts from 18 days by barge to just 18 hours by air, accelerating the space race efforts.
The turboprop-powered Super Guppy features a massive cargo area (25 feet in diameter and 111 feet long) and a hinged nose that opens 110 degrees for easy loading.
Originating from a highly modified KC-97 Stratotanker, the Super Guppy remains operational today, still flying and requiring a two-pilot crew and flight engineer due to its unique flight characteristics.

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On July 20, 1969, the first human being set foot on the moon. It never would have happened without the assistance of NASA’s Super Guppy. The turboprop-powered aircraft was designed in the 1960s specifically to handle oversized loads—mainly the body sections of the Saturn V rocket.

NASA’s Ray Heineman, director of flight operations and one of the pilots for the behemoth aircraft, gave FLYING a cockpit tour of the airframe that goes back to the early days of the space race—and is still flying.