NASA DC-8 Science Instrument Checkout Flight for Operation IceBridge
1,001 views · Published 5 July 2017 · 1:14 · Indexed 21 September 2026
Channel: NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center · 2017 · Science & Technology
This 1-minute, 13-second clip video taken on September 17, 2009 shows the DC-8 Flying Laboratory flying a science instrument checkout flight for the 2009 Operation IceBridge Mission. NASA operates a highly modified Douglas DC-8 jetliner as a flying science laboratory. The aircraft, based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center's Hangar 703 facility in Palmdale, California, is used to collect data for experiments in support of projects serving the world's scientific community. Federal, state, academic, and foreign investigators are among those who use NASA’s DC-8. Data gathered with the aircraft at flight altitude and by remote sensing have been used for studies in archaeology, ecology, geography, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, volcanology, atmospheric chemistry, cryospheric science, soil science, and biology. Four types of missions are flown with the DC-8: sensor development, satellite sensor verification, space vehicle launch or re-entry telemetry data retrieval and optical tracking, and basic research studies of Earth's surface and atmosphere. To learn more about NASA's DC-8 Flying Laboratory visit: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/news/FactSheets/FS-050-DFRC.html
