On August 31, 1965, NASA’s Super Guppy cargo plane took its first test flight.
This oversized aircraft looks a bit like a giant flying whale. It was built by a company called Aero Spacelines and based on the Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser. NASA uses these funny-looking planes to transport large cargo, like spacecraft parts and other smaller aircraft. (See the Super Guppy swallow a T-38 supersonic jet!) At the time, they needed the planes to transport Apollo program rocket stages from California to Florida.
The Super Guppy has a huge cargo compartment that measures 25 feet tall, 25 feet wide and 111 feet long (7.6 x 7.6 x 33.8 meters). It can carry payloads weighing more than 26 tons. To load cargo into the plane, its entire nose hinges wide open so the oversize load can slide right in. The original Super Guppy retired in 1991 and is currently on display at Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. NASA still flies a newer model of the Super Guppy.
Why it mattered
(Image credit: Pima Air and Space Museum)
When you’re building big rockets, you’re going to need to move their big pieces around, and sometimes a barge won’t cut it. That’s where the Super Guppy swoops in.
While it may look like something that shouldn’t fly, the Super Guppy has played (and still does) a critical role in moving huge spacecraft components across the country for NASA.
In recent years, the bulky plane has carried everything from retired T-38 supersonic jets and a prototype X-38 space “lifeboat” for astronauts to major components for NASA’s Artemis program, like the Orion space capsules, Orion heat shields and Space Launch System megarocket parts like the stage adapter that held the Orion capsule in the first place.
While NASA’s original Super Guppy is on display at the Pima Air Museum, it’s active cargo plane is based out of the El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas. It was due to make an appearance at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 air show in July 2026, but suffered damage during a severe storm and is undergoing repairs, according the Herald Times Reporter.
NASA is planning a massive aerospace expo of its own, called Max Power, for Nov. 7-8, but it’s unclear of the Super Guppy will be repaired in time for a possible appearance there.
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