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 was a crucial turboprop aircraft, specifically designed to transport oversized Saturn V rocket components, directly enabling the 1969 moon landing by drastically cutting transport times.
The aircraft substantially reduced the time it took to move large rocket parts from the West Coast to Cape Kennedy from approximately 18 days by barge to just 18 hours by air.
Featuring a massive cargo area (25 feet in diameter and 111 feet long) and a distinctive hinged nose that opens 110 degrees for loading, the Super Guppy remains operational and continues to carry large aerospace components.

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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.