Sept. 15, 2005

Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566

<table>
Beth Hagenauer
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-7960

Elvia Thompson/Dolores Beasley
NASA Headquarters, Washington DC
Phones: 202/358-1696/1753

RELEASE: 05-59

NASA'S DC-8 FLYING LAB DEPARTS DRYDEN FOR NEW NORTH DAKOTA HOME

NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory tipped its wings in farewell as it 
departed the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, 
Calif., for its new home at Grand Forks, N.D., on Sept. 14.

NASA recently signed a cooperative agreement with the University of 
North Dakota, Grand Forks, and will pay the university $25 million 
over a five-year period to maintain and operate the agency's DC-8 
science research aircraft. The plan is for the DC-8 to be the 
centerpiece of a new National Suborbital Education and Research 
Center at the university. The agreement is intended to expand science 
research capabilities using the DC-8 and enhance hands-on educational 
opportunities for students. Built as an extended-range jetliner in 
1966, the DC-8 was acquired by NASA from Alitalia Airlines in 1985 
and modified to convert it to a flying science laboratory. It was 
first operated by NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. 
from 1986 to 1997, and transferred to Dryden late that year.

The DC-8 has supported satellite validation, Earth science studies, 
and the development of remote sensing techniques for space-based 
observing systems. It has deployed worldwide to support research 
including measuring ozone and other gases with two winter deployments 
to Kiruna, Sweden, for the SAGE III Ozone Loss and Validation 
Experiments I and II. The aircraft has also carried scientists and 
their instruments into the eyes of several hurricanes with the goal 
of improving predictions of the storms' movements and increasing 
warning time to the affected areas.

Although based in North Dakota, the aircraft will continue to be owned 
by NASA, and will be flown by NASA flight crews for the foreseeable 
future. Operational management will be transferred from NASA Dryden 
to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility in 
Virginia.

PHOTO EDITORS: Publication-quality photos to support this release are 
available for downloading from the Internet at: 
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/DC-8/index.html.

TELEVISION EDITORS: B-roll footage to support this release will be 
aired during the Video File feeds on NASA TV beginning on Sept. 15. 
NASA TV is carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite 
AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, 
vertical polarization. It's available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7, 
at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, 
horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant 
Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception. For NASA TV 
information and schedules on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

	
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