posted 01-05-2013 12:39 PM               

Space Cover #195: Covers flown on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, NASA 905

With the recent retirement of the workhorse Boeing 747, Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), NASA 905, I thought it appropriate to show some covers from early in its career. First, here's a very brief history of SCA/NASA 905: It was acquired by NASA from American Airlines in 1974, and finished its career in 2012 by delivering three Space Shuttle Orbiters, Enterprise, Discovery and Endeavour, to their final resting places. NASA 905 began its work by serving as the air-launch platform for the Enterprise ALT flights in 1977; flew 70 of the 87 orbiter ferry flights during the operatioinal stage of the Space Shuttle Program; and ended with its orbiter museum delivery flights. In all, it took off and landed more than 6,300 times and will now spend its old-age retirement years in Houston.

The top three covers were flown on the SCA on December 2, 1976 on its first test flight with interior modifications completed. The top cover is a collector-prepared flown cover with pilot documentation supplied; the middle cover a Robert Rank Space Voyage flown cover; and the bottom cover from the Boeing Employees Stamp Club with a stuffer card inside supplying documentating information

The next covers were flown one day apart in January 1977, with both being flown at Seattle/Boeing Field by Chief Boeing pilot Paul Bennett.

The last two covers were flown in the SCA on its acceptance flight from Boeing/Seattle to NASA/Edwards AFB in preparation for the Enterprise ALT Program. The top cover is another Rank Space Voyage cover (indicating it's #805 of 1050 flown), with the bottom cover being a Stan Henderson/3-Muscateers cover also flown on that flight. It would be interesting to learn how so many dealers' covers were flown on the SCA, but no such information is known to this collector.

posted 11-07-2018 11:35 PM               

Since it has both American Airlines and NASA crew signatures, I figured this was the transfer flight from AA to NASA.

posted 11-08-2018 03:54 PM               

NASA purchased the used 747-123 (N9668) from American Airlines (AA) on the same date depicted on the above illustrated cover, July 18, 1974.

It was the 86th 747 off the production line at Everett and was delivered to AA on Oct. 29, 1970. By the time NASA had purchased the same aircraft, it had only
logged 8,999 flight hours. When in NASA hands, the space agency re-registered the aircraft as N905NA.

posted 11-08-2018 10:32 PM               

His job at Rockwell, was to physically purchase 905, and oversee the refitting and mods. Somewhere I have a photocopy of the release form "giving" the aircraft to NASA (who funded it). It is signed by him, Fitz and Fred Haise for the ALT program.

Just some useless trivia — Bob still lives in the Melbourne area and I lunch with he and Al Crews monthly. I brought Fred Haise to join us once, and he and Bob were inseparable the entire time talking about ALT and those days.

posted 11-10-2018 11:36 AM               

Does anyone know how many flights did NASA 905 flew as American Airlines passenger jet before it was purchased by NASA for SCA operations? Also, the same for NASA 911? I think 911 was operated by Korean Airlines, but not sure? It would be interesting to know their first and last flights as passenger jets, etc.

posted 11-19-2018 03:21 PM               

• Oct 29, 1970 - Delivered to American Airlines.

• Feb 17, 1974 - Put into flyable storage by American Airlines at Roswell, NM.

• May 18, 1974 - Based on the inquiry for sale, American Airlines puts aircraft back into commercial service.

• June 15, 1974 - Last commercial flight, American Flight 6 from Los Angeles to JFK, NY.
  • NASA requested upgraded 43,500-lbf P&W JT9D-3A engines.
    
  • American swapped two in Los Angeles prior to final commercial flight.
    
  • Remaining two swapped upon arrival in New York.
  
  
• June 16, 1974 - Ferry flight from New York to American maintenance base in Tulsa, OK, by an American Airlines crew.

• June 19, 1974 - Bill of sale for $15.6 million.

• June 20, 1974 - With acceptance inspection completed, American livery removed except for red-white-blue cheat-line, and tail painted light grey.

• June 21, 1974 - 21 minute check flight, 7 discrepancies identified, including #4 engine losing most of its oil.

  Crew:
  Albert J. Brown - American
  Peter E. Trott - American
  J. Foster Parsell - American
  Joe Algranti - NASA

  Passengers: 9 observers from American, NASA, and Rockwell.

• June 22, 1974 - 2 hour check flight to verify fixes resolved from the prior flight.
  Same crew as June 21.

  Formal transfer to NASA complete after flight.

• July 18, 1974 - Ferry flight from Tulsa, OK to Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

  Crew:
  Melvin R. Burton - American
  Peter E. Trott - American
  Joe Algranti - NASA
  A. J. Roy - NASA

posted 11-19-2018 04:18 PM               

Of course, a big thanks to Dennis Jenkins, as already pointed out, for his excellent space shuttle development book, of which I have a copy as well of this particular issue.

posted 09-23-2022 10:54 PM               

I have an item of the shuttle plane carrying, I don't know if that's the right thing to say，There are two lines of text on the cover:

This cover was flown aboard the 747 shuttle plane.

posted 09-25-2022 05:41 PM               

For Jeff, I had forgotten, that I did have one of the first known carried/flown 747-N905NA covers from July 18, 1974, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Edwards Air Force Base, California, when American Airlines handed over the special aircraft when NASA had officially acquired the jumbo jetliner in the summer of that year. The signatures of the American Airlines and NASA pilot crews are the same that Jeff has on his cover during this early flight configuration test phase. See top left cover above.

The rubber stamp cachet covers not included in the prior depictions (not flown) are those by space cover dealers Ray DuBeau and Sean Marsar. There had also been a cover servicer "Out West" that was able to cancel SCA covers for DuBeau, Marsar, and others (myself included) at Edwards Air Force Base. At the moment I had forgotten his name, but will report back later.

The two photos in the middle of the montage are from an inside N905NA visit of mine in Oct. 2012 before NASA retired its first SCA a year later. The photos of 905 came from KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at Runway 33's Parking Apron on the south strip. Note the interesting add-on logos near one of the entrance doors outlining the flight history of 905 from the 1970's onwards.