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X-38 vehicle #131R arrives at NASA Dryden via NASA'S Super Guppy transport aircraft X-38 vehicle #131R arrives at NASA Dryden via NASA'S Super Guppy transport aircraft

Photo Number: EC00-0212-1
Photo Date: July 11, 2000

Formats: 542x480 JPEG Image (79 KBytes)
1158x1024 JPEG Image (408 KBytes)
3000x2652 JPEG Image (4,115 KBytes)

Description: NASA's Super Guppy transport aircraft landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. on July 11, 2000, to deliver the latest version of the X-38 drop vehicle to Dryden. The X-38s are intended as prototypes for a possible "crew lifeboat" for the International Space Station. The X-38 vehicle 131R will demonstrate a huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil that will that will enable the potential crew return vehicle to land on the length of a football field after returning from space.

The crew return vehicle is intended to serve as a possible emergency transport to carry a crew to safety in the event of problems with the International Space Station. The Super Guppy evolved from the 1960s-vintage Pregnant Guppy, used for transporting outsized sections of the Apollo moon rocket. The Super Guppy was modified from 1950s-vintage Boeing C-97. NASA acquired its Super Guppy from the European Space Agency in 1997.


NASA Photo by: Tom Tschida

Keywords: X-38; crew return vehicle; International Space Station; Super Guppy; C-97



Last Modified: February 6, 2002
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