NASA and Samaritans Purse DC-8 aircrafts parked on the ramp in front of NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703.Credits: NASA Photo / Lauren Hughes
NASA has once again joined forces with the community in the continuing effort to fight COVID-19.
The agency provided specialized ground support on Jan. 11 for Samaritan’s Purse, enabling the aid organization to land their DC-8 cargo jet at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California.
The Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 arrived early Monday with supplies to aid in Los Angeles County’s Emergency Field Hospital that will expand capacity to care for COVID-19 patients at Antelope Valley Hospital. The aircraft is specially configured to carry up to 84,000 pounds of cargo and 32 passengers in support of international relief efforts.
NASA also operates a highly modified Douglas DC-8 as a flying science laboratory in support of the agency’s Airborne Science program. NASA’s DC-8, based at Armstrong, is flown to collect data for experiments in support of projects serving the world’s scientific community.
While there are few operational DC-8’s left in the world, the arrival resulted in a rare visual, as these two aircraft met on the same flight line.
To learn more about NASA’s response to coronavirus, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/coronavirus
Jessica Arreola
Public Affairs Specialist
Armstrong Flight Research Center