NASA DC-8 retirement

NASA will shortly retire its DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory after 37 years of missions. The aircraft (N817NA) completed its final mission and returned to the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California. The DC-8 and crew were welcomed back with a celebratory water salute by the US Air Force Plant 42 Fire Department on April 1, 2024 after completing an air quality study, the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality, or ASIA-AQ mission. The aircraft