Blog

The Boeing 747 continues to be recognized as one of the most iconic commercial jets of all time. Originally introduced in the 1960s, the game-changing aircraft brought unprecedented capacity, range, and comfort to the commercial aviation industry. After its launch, airlines across the world flocked to the type, with some even continuing to operate it today. The 747 and most of its variants are undoubtedly a major success.

While the 747 was a commercial success, it has served important roles in aviation beyond passenger operations. The aircraft was famously operated by the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), where two modified 747 variants carried the Space Shuttle, the aircraft used for recurring space travel. NASA’s impressive feat of using the jet comes with several interesting facts and a colorful history, further solidifying that the Boeing 747 was the true Queen of the Skies.

The Shuttle Carrier Brought The Space Shuttle Back To Florida

The Boeing 747s used to carry NASA’s Space Shuttle were known as “Shuttle Carrier” aircraft. The aircraft were used between 1977 and 2012, according to the National Air and Space Museum. The aircraft’s primary purpose was to transport the Space Shuttle from its landing location back to the Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida. This purpose made the Shuttle Carrier a critical link in NASA’s space flight ambitions.

Both aircraft involved in the program were modified Boeing 747 jets. The aircraft had to undergo several changes to safely transport such a massive piece of equipment, but still, the jets hold significant resemblance to the base model of the Boeing 747. Both aircraft were Boeing 747-100 variants, according to NASA. The first aircraft in the program was acquired from American Airlines in the mid-1970s, not long after the first Boeing 747 entered commercial service.

Since the program’s launch, the Shuttle Carrier has become an iconic symbol of the United States’ space exploration aspirations. Though the Space Shuttle, and thus its carriers, are no longer in service, many remember the striking and rather unusual appearance of a 747 lifting off with another aircraft attached to the top of its fuselage. But for that to be possible, the aircraft underwent some major enhancements and modifications to be capable of transporting the Space Shuttle.

Major Modifications Were Made To The Shuttle Carriers

Because they were carrying such a large aircraft on top of their fuselages, both Shuttle Carrier jets were given some major enhancements. Three struts and their respective structural strengthening in the aircraft’s interior were placed on top of the Shuttle Carriers. In addition to improving the strength of the fuselage, it provided a place for the orbiter to be attached to the aircraft.

The engineers also added enhanced horizontal stabilizers for improved directional stability. These were attached to the aircraft’s existing horizontal stabilizers, giving a unique and recognizable look to the aircraft’s tail section. Less visible to the public was the removal of the aircraft’s entire interior and cabin, which was necessary given that the aircraft was coming from a commercial airline.

More advanced instruments to be used by flight crews were also installed. The primary purpose of these added systems were to monitor electrical loads of the orbiter during ferry flights. All of these changes, while certainly costly, made the 747 capable of carrying the Space Shuttle. Beyond these modifications, the aircraft’s appearance remained remarkably close to a standard Boeing 747.

The First Shuttle Carrier Did More Than Ferry Aircraft

While the Shuttle Carrier was immortalized for its role in US space exploration, before it was converted into a ferry aircraft, the first jet in the program was actually used for a different purpose upon its arrival at NASA. According to NASA, the government agency used it to perform a series of flight tests at the Armstrong Research Center in Edweards, California. These tests shaped Federal Aviation Administration regulations that were designed to ensure safety for aircraft operating in wake turbulence.

The tests focused on the phenomenon of wake turbulence, which is often found in the path of large aircraft. Though typically causing minor bumps, in the right conditions, it could pose a threat to the safety of flights that are following larger aircraft. These tests provided the foundation for new flight procedures for arriving and departing commercial aircraft. While used for NASA, it seems the Shuttle Carrier has also contributed to ensuring daily commercial aircraft operations remain safe.

Following the aircraft’s time with flight tests focused on wake turbulence, it was sent to Boeing to be modified to carry the Space Shuttle. Though the aircraft had important contributions to the world of aviation, its most popular role would not start until changes were made by its manufacturer. The first Shuttle Carrier was utilized until November 1990, before its replacement aircraft was deployed.

NASA’s Second Shuttle Carrier Also Logged An Impressive History

The second Boeing 747-100 to enter the Shuttle Carrier program was first built in 1973. The jet initially entered service with Japan Airlines, but was ultimately obtained by NASA in 1989. Like with the original 747 Shuttle Carrier, the second aircraft was modified by Boeing. Upon the completion of the necessary modifications, the aircraft was delivered to NASA on November 20, 1990. It would remain with the agency for over two decades.

The aircraft was officially retired in February 2012, marking the end of an iconic and impressive chapter for NASA and the United States’ space exploration efforts. By the time the aircraft was removed from service, it had completed an impressive amount of work for NASA. Among its achievements were:

The Shuttle Carrier program proved to be a successful one for NASA, and has demonstrated the impressive capabilities of the Boeing 747 and other modern, commercial jets. Despite the Boeing 747’s success, the aircraft is becoming an increasingly rare sight in the skies across the world. It won’t be much longer before airlines follow NASA’s move and retire the aircraft type entirely.

The 747 Is An Increasingly Rare Jet

Unfortunately for 747 fans, the aircraft is reaching the end of its service life. Though it might take longer for freighter airlines (which have embraced the jet) to completely retire the 747, in the commercial segment of the aviation industry, the aircraft has quickly lost favor. The 747’s four engines make it far less efficient than modern twin-engine jets, leading airlines to retire their fleets of the Queen of the Skies in favor of smaller, more cost-efficient aircraft.

Though the 747’s reign is coming to an end, it boasts a long and successful career in connecting the world. Some of the 747’s largest passenger operators over its lifespan include Japan Airlines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines. Additionally, major cargo carriers like Atlas Air and Kalitta Air invested heavily in the type.

The 747 has become an iconic aircraft that revolutionized flying. Though it may soon disappear from the skies, it will likely be remembered for years to come. Countless 747s are displayed in museums across the world, keeping the memory of the famous jet alive. Additionally, for fans of the 747, Lego recently released a new set featuring the 747’s role as a Shuttle Carrier.

747 Fans Can Now Purchase A Lego Shuttle Carrier Model

Fans of NASA, Lego, or the 747 might enjoy one of Lego’s newest products: a replica of the Shuttle Carrier. The set comes with the pieces to assemble both the 747-100 and Space Shuttle, unlocking a new way to preserve and appreciate the aircraft’s legacy. This set costs about $230 and comes with a whopping 2,417 pieces.

This isn’t the first tribute to modern aviation Lego has made. The company already sells a Concorde model, immortalizing the only supersonic passenger jet. Lego fans have embraced the kit, potentially paving the way for more aviation-themed Lego sets. The price of the Shuttle Carrier set also indicates Lego’s confidence in demand and excitement for the product.

This Lego set, among countless other memorials to the Shuttle Carrier and the Boeing 747, demonstrates the widebody aircraft’s role in shaping modern travel and even space exploration. As the jet continues to be retired by commercial carriers, many are still celebrating the aircraft’s contributions to modern travel. Whether it’s displays in museums, Lego kits, or other experiences, the legacy of the Boeing 747 and the Shuttle Carrier is being kept alive by fans and stakeholders across the world.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently zeroed in on the Bullet Cluster — delivering highly detailed images that show a greater abundance of extremely faint and distant galaxies than ever before. Using Webb’s crisp near-infrared observations of this region, researchers have more completely mapped the colliding galaxy clusters’ contents.

“With Webb’s observations, we carefully measured the mass of the Bullet Cluster with the largest lensing dataset to date, from the galaxy clusters’ cores all the way out to their outskirts,” said Sangjun Cha, the lead author of the paper published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and a PhD student at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. (Previous studies of the Bullet Cluster with other telescopes relied on significantly less lensing data, which netted out with less precise estimates of the system’s mass.)

“Webb’s images dramatically improve what we can measure in this scene — including pinpointing the position of invisible particles known as dark matter,” said Kyle Finner, a co-author and an assistant scientist at IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California.

Mapping the Dark Matter

All galaxies are made up of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, which are bound together by gravity. The Bullet Cluster is made up of two very massive collections of galaxies, known as galaxy clusters, that are themselves bound by gravity.

These galaxy clusters act as gravitational lenses, magnifying the light of background galaxies. “Gravitational lensing allows us to infer the distribution of dark matter,” said James Jee, a co-author, professor at Yonsei University, and research associate at UC Davis in California.

To visualize gravitational lensing and dark matter, think of a pond filled with clear water and pebbles. “You cannot see the water unless there is wind, which causes ripples,” Jee explained. “Those ripples distort the shapes of the pebbles below, causing the water to act like a lens.” The same thing happens in space, but the water is dark matter and the pebbles are background galaxies.

In all, the team measured thousands of galaxies in Webb’s images to accurately “weigh” both the visible and invisible mass in these galaxy clusters. They also carefully mapped and measured the collective light emitted by stars that are no longer bound to individual galaxies — known as intracluster stars.

The revised map of the Bullet Cluster is shown in a new image: Layered on top of an image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory that shows hot gas in pink, including the bullet shape at right. Refined measurements of the dark matter, calculated by the team using Webb’s observations, are represented in blue. (See the defined galaxy clusters within the dashed circles.)

Their findings are persuasive: “We confirmed that the intracluster light can be a reliable tracer of dark matter, even in a highly dynamic environment like the Bullet Cluster,” Cha said. If these stars are not bound to galaxies, but to the cluster’s dark matter, it might become easier to pin down more specifics about the invisible matter.

Viewed as a whole, the researchers’ new measurements significantly refine what we know about how mass is spread throughout the Bullet Cluster. The galaxy cluster on the left has an asymmetric, elongated area of mass along the left edge of the blue region, which is a clue pointing to previous mergers in that cluster.

Dark matter does not emit, reflect, or absorb light, and the team’s findings indicate that dark matter shows no signs of significant self-interaction. If dark matter did self-interact in Webb’s observations, the team would see an offset between the galaxies and their respective dark matter.

“As the galaxy clusters collided, their gas was dragged out and left behind, which the X-rays confirm,” Finner said. Webb’s observations show that dark matter still lines up with the galaxies — and was not dragged away.

Although earlier measurements with other telescopes also identified invisible mass in addition to the mass in the galaxies, it was still possible that the dark matter could interact with itself to some degree. These new observations place stronger limits on the behavior of dark matter particles.

‘Replaying’ the Collision

The strange new clumps and elongated line of mass the team identified may mean that the Bullet Cluster was produced by more than one collision of galaxy clusters billions of years ago.

The larger cluster, which now sits on the left, might have suffered a minor collision before it rammed through the galaxy cluster now at right. The same larger cluster may also have experienced a violent interaction afterward, causing an additional shake up of its contents. “A more complicated scenario would lead to a huge asymmetric elongation like we see on the left,” Jee said.

The Head of a ‘Giant’

The Bullet Cluster is huge, even in the vast expanse of space. Webb’s NIRCam covered a significant portion of the hulking debris with its images, but not all of it. “It’s like looking at the head of a giant,” said Jee. “Webb’s initial images allow us to extrapolate how heavy the whole ‘giant’ is, but we’ll need future observations of the giant’s whole ‘body’ for precise measurements.”

In the near future, researchers will also have expansive near-infrared images from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is set to launch by May 2027. “With Roman, we will have complete mass estimates of the entire Bullet Cluster, which would allow us to recreate the actual collision on computers,” Finner said.

The Bullet Cluster is found in the Carina constellation 3.8 billion light-years from Earth.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/webb