Rare NASA Plane Arrives At San Diego Air & Space Museum
By Rebekah Gonzalez
July 15, 2021
The San Diego Air & Space Museum is now home to a rare NASA aircraft.
According to FOX5, the S-3B Viking had been used almost daily as a flight research aircraft for close to 20 years.
On Tuesday, July 13, the aircraft departed from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and took its final flight.
Before going to San Diego County, the aircraft stopped in El Paso, Texas. Once it made a scheduled flyover of North Island Naval Air Station, the aircraft made its final touchdown at the museum's Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon.
The S-3B was originally designed by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Navy but they retired its fleet of aircraft from active duty in 2009.
NASA delivered our new S-3B Viking yesterday to the Annex at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, where it will be on permanent display. We're so grateful and honored to have this historic and venerable airplane, which was the last flight worthy of its kind in the world! #NASA pic.twitter.com/mBzlRAtCfy
— San Diego Air & Space Museum (@SDASM) July 14, 2021
In 2004 NASA acquired the S-3B and they completely reconfigured the aircraft for flight research purposes, reports FOX5.
“One of its major contributions was helping NASA’s aeronautical innovators define communications standards that the Federal Aviation Administration can apply to the unmanned aircraft systems for safe operation in U.S. airspace," NASA said in a statement.
“The San Diego Air & Space Museum is honored to be the final home of the last flying S-3B Viking aircraft, one of the most iconic the annals of Naval aviation history,” said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. “We are thrilled to display and share it with future generations of visitors to our Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon. It is a truly worthy and welcome addition to our already impressive collection.”