Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: NASA/Carla Escamilla

NASA’s new reduced-gravity research aircraft is on duty to support the space agency’s Artemis return-to-the-Moon, onward to Mars program.

This Boeing 737-700 reportedly spent years as a secretive U.S. Air Force flying testbed. Now it will be used to confirm astronaut lunar suits are in ready-to-go condition and other Artemis-related tasks.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California took ownership of the jet from the Air Force in June 2026.

NASA’s contracting documentation indicates that the aircraft previously served as an Air Force classified military program.

Controlled flight profile

The aircraft made its final flight under the U.S. Air Force in January 2009. NASA subsequently preserved the airplane at Edwards AFB, where it is on display near the Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Now under NASA’s wing, the aircraft can follow a controlled flight profile that produces short periods of reduced gravity inside the cabin. Each roller coaster-like parabola runs for some 20 seconds, with typical flights combining 15-30 parabolas.

Flight trajectory for a typical zero gravity flight maneuver.
Image credit: MikeRun/NASA Reduced Gravity Research Program via Wikimedia Commons

By varying the trajectory, researchers can mimic different gravitational environments, be it the Moon or Mars.

Modifications

Earlier this year, NASA selected Denmar Technical Services of Nevada to provide aircraft modifications, maintenance, and testing services to the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Once modifications are complete, NASA Armstrong will own the aircraft and oversee aircraft operations out of NASA Johnson.

For more details on the history of this plane, go to this story at:

https://theaviationist.com/2026/08/17/nasas-new-vomit-comet-has-a-secretive-air-force-past/