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NASA’s C-130 Aircraft En Route to India in Support of NISAR Mission

A C-130 aircraft with four propellors is parked on the yellow painted lines of an airfield.
NASA’s C-130 Hercules is prepared for departure from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on October 15, 2024, for a cargo transport mission to India. The C-130 is supporting the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
NASA/Madison Griffin

NASA’s globetrotting C-130 Hercules team is carrying out a cargo transport mission to Bengaluru, India, in support of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.

The C-130 departed from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Tuesday, Oct. 15, to embark on the multi-leg, multi-day journey. The flight path will take the aircraft coast to coast within the United States, across the Pacific Ocean with planned island stops, and finally to its destination in India. The goal: safely deliver NISAR’s radar antenna reflector, one of NASA’s contributions to the mission, for integration on the spacecraft. NISAR is a joint mission between NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation).

The cargo transport mission will encompass approximately 24,500 nautical miles and nearly 80 hours of flight time for the C-130 and crew. The flight plan includes strategic stops and rest days to service the aircraft and reduce crew fatigue from long-haul segments of the flight and multiple time zone changes.

A member of the flight crew stands underneath the large wing of the C-130, looking up to inspect it prior to departure.
The flight crew inspects the aircraft prior to departure from NASA Wallops.
NASA/Madison Griffin
The C-130’s cargo compartment has plenty of space to hold the more than 2,800-pound payload containing the radar antennae reflector once retrieved from California.
NASA/Madison Griffin

The first stop for the C-130 was March Air Reserve Base located in Riverside County, California; the reflector had been at a specialized facility in California. Additional stops during the mission include Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Clark Air Base, Philippines; and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Airport in Bengaluru, India.

This is the C-130 and crew’s third cargo transport to India in support of the NISAR mission, with prior flights in July 2023 and March 2024.

For more information, visit nasa.gov/wallops.

By Olivia Littleton

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

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Last Updated
Oct 22, 2024
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Olivia F. Littleton
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Olivia F. Littleton