DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory

NASA operates a highly modified Douglas DC-8 

jetliner as a flying science laboratory. The aircraft 

is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research 

Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California and 

is used to collect data for experiments in support 

of projects serving the world's scientific community. Federal, state, academic, and foreign 

researchers are among those who use NASA’s 

DC-8.

Data gathered with the aircraft at flight altitude, 

and by remote sensing, have been used for studies in archaeology, ecology, geography, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, volcanology, 

atmospheric chemistry, cryospheric science, soil 

science, and biology.

Four types of missions are flown with the DC-8: 

sensor development, satellite sensor verification, 

space vehicle launch or re-entry telemetry data 

retrieval and optical tracking, and other research 

studies of Earth's surface and atmosphere.

Sensor Development

Because it is flown in the Earth's atmosphere, the 

DC-8 offers a comparatively inexpensive way 

to test and verify prototype satellite instruments. 

Scientists use the DC-8 to develop ideas in instrument technology as well as to test new instruments and modify them, if necessary, based on 

flight results. Potential problems can be corrected 

before new instruments are launched into space. 

As a result, flight-proven hardware can lead to 

substantial savings in time and resources.

The DC-8 conducted the Active Sensing of CO2 

Emissions over Nights, Days and Seasons (ASCENDS) campaign during the winter of 2016 to 

demonstrate improved airborne lidar instrument 

performance used in gathering remote measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Flights 

were flown over different land features – ocean, 

urban, tall forests, and snow – to test surface 

reflectance effects on instrument performance.

Space-borne lasers would find the same type of 

surfaces when used to study components of the 

Earth's atmosphere. This research will contribute 

to further development of laser-based Earth-observing satellite instruments designed to measure 

atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Satellite Sensor Verification

The DC-8 helps scientists answer questions about 

the accuracy of data and how to interpret that data 

from satellite instruments in orbit. For these missions, the DC-8 flies under a satellite's path, using 

instruments to compile the same information 

collected by the satellite. Through this process, 

algorithms used to interpret satellite data are 

NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory has flown Earth science missions for more than 25 years under NASA's 

Airborne Science Program. Expert maintenance has allowed this aircraft to conduct research on six continents and study ice fields on the seventh – Antarctica. NASA/Lori Losey.
FS-2022-11-050 AFRC

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Armstrong Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273

Edwards, California 93523

NASA Facts

evaluated and updated to reflect the results verified with DC-8 

instrumentation.

The Convective Processes Experiment – Aerosols and Winds 

(CPEX-AW) campaign was a joint effort between NASA and 

the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2021. The primary goal 

was to conduct post-launch calibration and validation activities of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission-Aeolus (ADMAEOLUS) Earth observation wind lidar satellite in St. Croix, 

U.S. Virgin Islands. The CPEX-AW campaign was a follow-on 

effort to the Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX) field 

campaign, which took place in summer 2017.

Space Vehicle Launch/Re-entry Telemetry and Tracking

A tracking antenna used to receive launch vehicle telemetry 

data was installed in the nose of the DC-8 to support the 

Missile Defense Agency's Space Tracking and Surveillance 

Demonstration satellite launches and NASA's Glory Earth science satellite launch.

The DC-8 has also supported optical tracking of spacecraft 

re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. This includes the re-entry of 

the European Automated Transfer Vehicle dubbed “Jules Verne” 

in 2008, and the 2010 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency 

mission to track the re-entry of the Hayabusa spacecraft.

Other Research Studies

In 1991, NASA launched a comprehensive program to study 

Earth as an environmental system. The extended range, 

prolonged flight-duration capability, large payload capacity, 

and laboratory environment of the DC-8 make it one of the 

premier research aircraft available to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Combined with other aircraft, satellites and 

ground stations, the DC-8 complements and extends the range 

of an instrument package, allowing scientists to successfully 

address today's planetary issues.

In 2009, the DC-8 began participation in Operation IceBridge, 

NASA's annual polar ice field campaign, with flights over 

Antarctica from a deployment base at Punta Arenas, Chile.

The aircraft carried researchers and their instruments over 

western Antarctica in the largest airborne survey of Earth's 

polar ice to date. During March and April 2010, the DC-8 

was based in Greenland for IceBridge's Arctic ice study. 

IceBridge's research continued the multi-year measurements 

started by NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite 

(ICESat-I), which ceased operation in 2009, and was completed in 2019 with the launch of ICESat-II. 

The DC-8 was fitted with 32 sensors for a 2019 mission to 

investigate wild and prescribed burn fires in the northwest. 

Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments – Air 

Quality (FIREX-AQ) was a joint effort between NASA 

and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). The DC-8 operated from Boise, Idaho, and Salina, 

Kansas, during the campaign, and drew together coordinated 

observations from NASA and NOAA satellites, aircraft (including NASA's ER-2 and NOAA’s Twin Otter and Night Fox 

uncrewed aircraft system), and mobile ground laboratories and 

sites. 

Aircraft Description

NASA’s DC-8-72 is a four-engine jet transport aircraft that has 

been highly modified to support the Agency's Airborne Science 

mission. The aircraft, built in 1969 and acquired by NASA in 

1985, is 157 feet long with a 148-foot wingspan. With a range 

of 5,400 nautical miles (6,200 statute miles), the aircraft can 

fly at altitudes from 1,000 to 42,000 feet for up to 12 hours, although most science missions average 6 to 10 hours. The DC-8 

can carry 30,000 pounds of scientific instruments and equipment and can seat up to 45 researchers and flight crew.

The DC-8 incorporates a suite of sensors and data systems and 

provides services that can be tailored to specific missions or 

instruments. The DC-8 also has Iridium and Inmarsat satellite 

communications capability. Two Iridium-based communications 

systems (one for flight crew communications and one for science team communications), a multichannel system for upload 

of meteorological data, chat messaging, limited data telemetry, 

and live Web page updates are available.

NASA's DC-8 flew in support of the NASA Student Airborne 

Research Project (SARP) to measure aerosols using the Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) instrument 

with the Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift (CAPS) PMex Monitor 

(Particle Optical Extinction). NASA/Carla Thomas