Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft: Concept, Design & Operation

The Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft program was developed in the late 1970s in response to NASA’s need to transport the Space Shuttle orbiter between landing sites in California and New Mexico and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Boeing was selected to modify two existing B747-100 passenger jets to serve as carriers for the Space Shuttle. This presentation discusses the efforts of one man who led NASA engineers to a radical approach to moving fragile space vehicles.