Academy 12708 1:288 Space Shuttle & 747

To transport the Space Shuttle to destinations around the U.S., NASA has modified a Boeing 747 to carry the Shuttle piggyback style.

• 1:288 scale plastic model kit from Academy
• Requires paint and glue

History
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. One (N905NA) is a 747?100 model, while the other (N911NA) is a short range 747-100SR.

The SCAs were used to ferry Space Shuttles from landing sites back to the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. The orbiters were placed on top of the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures that hoisted the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing then mated them with the SCAs for ferry flights.

In approach and landing test flights conducted in 1977, the test shuttle Enterprise was released from an SCA during flight and glided to a landing under its own control.