EC00-0212-2
NASA’s Super Guppy transport aircraft landed at Edwards Air Force Base, CA on July 11, 2000 to deliver the latest version of the X-38 drop vehicle to Dryden. The X-38s were intended as prototypes for a possible “crew lifeboat” for the International Space Station. The X-38 vehicle 131R demonstrated a huge 7,500 square-foot parafoil that would enable the potential crew return vehicle to land on the length of a football field after returning from space.
The crew return vehicle was intended to serve as a possible emergency transport to carry a crew to safety in case of problems with the International Space Station. The Super Guppy evolved from the 1960s-vintage Pregnant Guppy, used for transporting outsized sections of the Apollo moon rocket. The Super Guppy was modified from a 1950s-vintage Boeing C-97 Stratocruiser airframes. NASA acquired the Super Guppy from the European Space Agency in 1997.July 11, 2000NASA Photo / Tom Tschida› X-38 Project Description