It’s the end of an era for NASA’s DC-8 airplane! After faithfully serving for 37 years, the plane took its last flight on May 15th.
This historic aircraft wasn’t always a NASA research plane. Built in 1969, it originally flew passengers for an Italian airline before joining another airline in the US. In 1985, NASA acquired the plane and gave it a major makeover, including new engines.
Since then, the DC-8 has been a busy bee, participating in a whopping 158 science missions! It officially retired from service in April after completing a big project studying air quality in Asia.
The DC-8’s journey isn’t quite over, though. It’s found a new home at Idaho State University, where it will help train future airplane mechanics.
On its final flight, the plane even did a victory lap, flying past two of NASA’s research centers in California before landing in Idaho.
