# Airborne Science Program

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ER-2 #709 takes off from NASA Dryden

[NASA](/source/NASA)'s **Airborne Science Program** is administered from the [NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center](/source/Armstrong_Flight_Research_Center), in [Edwards, California](/source/Edwards%2C_California). The program supports the [sub-orbital](/source/Sub-orbital) [flight](/source/Flight) requirements of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Dryden maintains and operates two [ER-2](/source/Lockheed_U-2#ER-2_details) high-altitude "satellite simulator" aircraft and a [DC-8](/source/DC-8) which is specially configured as a "flying laboratory" in service from 1987 to May 2024.

The scientific disciplines that employ these aircraft include [Earth sciences](/source/Earth_sciences), [astronomy](/source/Astronomy), [atmospheric chemistry](/source/Atmospheric_chemistry), [climatology](/source/Climatology), [oceanography](/source/Oceanography), [archeology](/source/Archeology), [ecology](/source/Ecology), [forestry](/source/Forestry), [geography](/source/Geography), [geology](/source/Geology), [hydrology](/source/Hydrology), [meteorology](/source/Meteorology), [volcanology](/source/Volcanology) and [biology](/source/Biology). The DC-8 and ER-2 are also important tools for the development of sensors intended to fly aboard future Earth-observing satellites, and to validate and calibrate the sensors which are used onboard satellites which currently orbit the Earth.

## NASA research aircraft types operated

### Present

Aircraft Number in service Introduced Research Center McDonnell Douglas DC-8 1 1987 (end in 2024)[1] Armstrong Flight Research Center Lockheed ER-2 2 1981 Armstrong Flight Research Center Gulfstream C-20A 1 2008 Armstrong Flight Research Center Gulfstream III 1 2012 Johnson Space Center Gulfstream III 1 2012 Langley Research Center Gulfstream V 1 2012 Johnson Space Center Lockheed P-3 Orion 1 1991 Wallops Flight Facility

## Media

		- Airborne Science Safari 2000 Mission

		- ER-2 in Sweden for the Sage III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment

## See also

- [Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science](/source/Center_for_Earth_Resources_Observation_and_Science)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/nasa-dc-8-retired](https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/nasa-dc-8-retired)

## External links

- ["NASA Airborne Science Program"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050929003701/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/AirSci/index.html). *NASA*. Archived from [the original](https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/AirSci/index.html) on 29 September 2005. Retrieved October 18, 2005.

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