picture of Reduced Gravity logo KC-135 Header graphic
Follow this link to skip to the navigation links
Return to the Reduced Gravity home
About the C-9B button
About the 727 button
Go to Reduced Gravity trajectory
Go to Reduced Gravity program Users' Guide
Go to Reduced Gravity Current Activities
Go to C-9B history of the KC-135 program
Go to KC-135 history of the KC-135 program
Go to the history of the 727
Go to Reduced Gravity program photo gallery
Go to Reduced Gravity program contact information

 

The History of KC-135A
Reduced Gravity Research Program

The Boeing Military Airplane Company's model 367-80 was the basic design for the commercial 707 passenger plane as well as the KC-135A Stratotanker. In 1954 the Air Force purchased the first 29 of its future fleet of 732. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial-production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, Calif., in June 1957. The last KC-135A was delivered to the Air Force in 1965.

NASA 931 (KC-135A) (63-7998) the last “A” model will be retired from service on 31 October 2004. 63-7998 began its service on 22 November 1963 with the United States Air Force after being manufactured at the Boeing, Seattle, WA facility. Tue, March 17, 2009 3:41 PMombardment (Medium),
Wing (SAC), Plattsburg AFB, NY (deployments to Goosebay AB, Labrador, Torrejon AF, Spain, U Tapao, RTAFB, Thailand,
November 1963 91st Bombardment (Heavy) Wing (Strategic Air Command),
Glasgow AFB, MT
June 1964 310th Strategic Aerospace Wing (SAC), Schilling AFB, KS
January 1966 92nd Strategic Aerospace Wing (SAC), Fairchild AFB, WA
April 1966 22nd Bombardment (H) Wing (SAC), March AFB, CA
(deployments to Hickam AFB, HI, Kadena AB, Japan, and U Tapao, RTAFB, Thailand)
Eielson AFB, AK, RAF Midenhall, UK, Aragoza AB, Spain, Anderson AB,
Guam, RAF Fairford, UK, Wurtsmith AFB, MI and Kadena AB,
Japan
April 1989 376th Strategic Wing (SAC), Kadena AB (deployment to Eielson
AFB, AK)
??? 1992 At 92nd Wing (Air Combat Command), Dyess AFB, TX (Last
Assignment)
4 November 1994 63-7998 moves from Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC), Davis Monthan AFB, AZ to NASA Ellington Field,TX
January 1995 63-7998 is re-designated NASA 931 goes to Tinker AFB, OK for
Periodic Depot Maintenance (PDM) and Reduced Gravity
modification
26 May 1995 NASA 931 Returns to Ellington Field from PDM at Tinker AFB and begins Reduced Gravity Modification
28 September 1995 NASA 931 flies first 8 parabolas
29 September 1995 First research Redeced Gravity mission 50 parabolas, 2.1 flight
hours
14 April 1997 First Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities flight
29 October 2004 Final Research mission (Shuttle Tile Repair)
10 December 2004 Final flight ( David Mumme / Frank Marlow / Bud Meins ) EFD to
the Pima Air Museum, Tucson, AZ. N931 will be placed on display.

As of 10 December 2004 NASA 931 has completed the following:
Parabolas 34,757 year to date
Flight hours 13,605.0 year to date

For FY-04 NASA 931 completed 5,059 parabolas (This is the most parabolas flown in any year since the beginning of the program in 1959)

During its Reduced Gravity career NASA 931 averaged 3,800 parabolas and 300 flight hours per year. This aircraft was used to pathfind the weather when the shuttle was moved from Kennedy Spaceflight Center to its maintenance facility at Palmdale, CA and from the landing sites at Edwards AFB, CA and White Sand, NM to the Kennedy Spaceflight Center, FL. NASA 931 was also used for the Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) alignments at the CONUS sites ( KSC, White Sands and Edwards) and the European sites at Zaragoza and Moron, Spain. Astronaut pilots also used the aircraft for Heavy Aircraft Training (HAT), this allowed astronaut pilots to get the feel of a heavy aircraft similar to the shuttle. 931 was also on a standby mission for the Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL). If the shuttle ever did an abort to one of the overseas landing sites during the launch, then NASA 931 would have been deployed to bring the crew home. The aircraft was also used to move high valued spaceflight hardware and equipment (EMU) to KSC in preparation for launch. One of NASA 931’s proudest missions was to carry equipment and personnel in the recovery mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) and her crew.
   
NASA 931
KC-135A (63-7998)
STATISTICS
FIRST FLIGHT: 27 SEPT 1995 A J ROY / ACE BEALL
LAST FLIGHT: 29 OCT 2004 BRUCE ARNOLD/ CHARLIE JUSTIZ 10 DEC 2004 DAVID MUMME / FRANK MARLOW / BUD MEINS
TOTAL NUMBER OF PARABOLA’S: 34,757
TOTAL FLIGHT HOURS: 13,605.0
TOTAL NUMBER OF PASSENGERS 18,267
FUEL (GALLONS USED): 3,020,610
GALLONS OF OIL: 2,193
TRIPS TO EUROPE: 2 (NOV 95, NOV97)
PATHFINDER MISSIONS: 7 (JUL96, MAR97, NOV97, SEP98, SEP99, FEB01, JUN02)
MSBLS MISSIONS (CONUS): 4 ( FEB97, MAY97, OCT98, OCT/NOV02 )
MSBLS (SPAIN): 1 (SEP03)
GRC DEPLOYMENT WEEKS: 43 (97-1, 98-7, 99-7, 00-5, 01-5, 02-7, 03-5, 04-5, 05-1)
STS -107 SUPPORT: 39 (67.2 FLT HRS)
STUDENTS FLT WEEKS:
STUDENTS FLOWN: 2010
COLLEGE TEAMS: 460
GALLONS OF VOMIT: 285
   



Gradient border graphic

Bottom border graphic