The Johnson Space Center (JSC) procured a long-range Gulfstream GV aircraft as part of a shared usage agreement between the International Space Station (ISS) Program and the NASA Earth Sciences Division (ESD). The ISS Program will use this aircraft to fulfill the Soyuz Direct and Commercial Crew Program Crew Return missions, and ESD will use this aircraft to support airborne science missions in remote locations around the world. The collaboration between the ISS Program and ESD replicates the successful shared usage model currently implemented by JSC on the Gulfstream GIII aircraft and provides the agency a business jet to serve as a true long range platform to execute missions around the world.
The aircraft was procured by the agency in September 2016. JSC modified the aircraft over the following winter to provide the necessary medical care to deconditioned astronauts and started executing the direct return mission in February 2017. The JSC engineering and maintenance teams have been completing the designs, analyses, and modifications required to transform the airplane into an airborne science platform. JSC is nearing the completion of these modifications as the installation of two, large nadir windows in the fuselage is slated to be completed in January 2019.
For Further Information
Schedule: http://airbornescience.nasa.gov/aircraft_detailed_cal?aircraft_id=53
Points of Contact
Program Manager: Jeffrey Sugar: 281-792-8439
Mission Planner: Brendan Finnegan: 281-483-2156