posted 10-13-2019 11:37 AM               

This Boeing 747 N198UA took its first flight May 1997 and flew international routes for United Airlines until it was retired in March 2009. It began the second journey of its career in March 2012 when its cockpit and controls, engines, pylons, landing gear, actuators, electrical, hydraulics and fuel subsystems were incorporated into the Stratolaunch, the world's largest aircraft by wingspan. As part of the Stratolaunch, this plane will live on to carry satellites and rockets into space.

posted 08-05-2021 02:05 PM               

MotoArt makes mementos from scrapped NASA shuttle launch platform

When NASA announced earlier this year that it was going to destroy one of its three historic structures that was used to support Apollo rockets and space shuttles, the fate of Mobile Launch Platform-2 (MLP-2) seemed to be sealed as scrap metal. That is, until fans of MotoArt's PlaneTags heard the news.

Now, the public can own a small part of space shuttle history, thanks to a 20-year-old company with a reputation for preserving aviation history by making products out of old airplane parts.

posted 08-06-2021 02:28 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by randyc:
These were made from the Shuttle-specific tail service masts so there really isn't a direct connection to the MLP used during the Apollo and Skylab programs.

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posted 08-06-2021 03:30 PM               

Frank-Lin Services, the contractor that conducted the demolition of MLP-2, reportedly sold the tail masts to MotoArt at a considerable price. Then, most of the work to prepare the tags needed to be outsourced due to the thickness of the steel. The water jetting, the laser etching and the printing on the aluminum backing cards were all outsourced.

Other PlaneTags are shipped on a coated paper backing card, but to support the weight of the MLP-2 tag, it needed to be cut from metal and include a magnet to hold the tag in place. New shipping materials were needed, too.

Add in the cost of labor and the need to accommodate a wholesale rate for distributors, and MotoArt's margin is lower than with many of its other PlaneTags.

posted 08-06-2021 04:21 PM               

The small 1/2" square-cut metal pieces, about 1/16" thick, were part of ML-3's lightning mask, however, the original ML-3 was in fact ML-1 since 1964.

ML-1 had been the original launching platform for Apollos 4, 8, and 11, including the later Skylab/Saturn 1B missions that included ASTP. After Apollo 17, though, ML-1 was modified to support the Saturn 1B flights of the four 1B crews for Skylab/ASTP with the designation of ML-3. Sounds confusing, huh? Me too!

posted 11-09-2021 01:10 PM               

• Exterior/Thin, $350
  
• Exterior/Medium, $500
  
• Exterior/Thick, $750

posted 04-27-2023 12:00 AM               

New MotoArt PlaneTags made from NASA aircraft used by Apollo tracking stations

A NASA aircraft that was used to prepare the space agency's Gemini and Apollo ground stations has now "taken off" as a popular collectible.

MotoArt on Thursday (April 27) is releasing its latest, limited edition "PlaneTag," a luggage tag-inspired memento made out of the authentic skin of NASA 420, a Lockheed C-121G "Super Constellation" that was operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center from 1963 to 1973. As a PlaneTag, both air and space enthusiasts now have the chance to preserve a small part of this historic plane, while exposing new audiences to the role that NASA 420 played in ensuring Mission Control knew where their astronauts were as they circled Earth and flew to and from the moon.

posted 07-06-2023 02:38 PM               

With its sleek design and powerful engines, the Learjet 24 provided NASA with a platform to conduct a wide range of atmospheric studies, Earth observations, and technological development, making it a valuable asset in their quest for scientific exploration. Introducing N805NA, NASA's Learjet Airborne Observatory aircraft.