A secret NT-43A of the US Air Force Materiel Command has been spotted in Florida, taking part in preparations for the launch of NASA’s long-term Artemis II lunar mission. This very unique and incredibly shy aircraft, a modified military version of the Boeing 737-200 (T-43) also known by the designation RAT55, has long been used as a platform for air signatures in support of work related to military stealth aircraft. However, during high-altitude operations, its two large radars, electro-optical and infrared sensors, and other capabilities can be useful to collect telemetry and other important data, as you can read more about here.
RAT55 was seen yesterday flying over Melbourne, on the east coast of Florida, which has become very rare. The jet is very easy to identify, even from a distance, due to its heavily modified nose and large aft radome protruding from the rear of the fuselage. The NT-43A appears to be based at the Tonopah Test Range Airport (TTR), a high-security facility in Nevada long associated with shadow aviation programs. It is often seen flying around Area 51 in Nevada and Edwards Air Force Base in neighboring California, both of which are major test sites for the US military. It is rare to see it anywhere.
RAT55’s view of the skies above Melbourne is consistent with the aircraft’s flight information using the NASA522 signal. The song showed the plane – apparently mistaken for a C-130 Hercules transport plane – taking off from MacDill Air Force Base, in the southwest, and flying an oval-shaped path in the restricted airspace around the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B. The plane then returned to MacDill.
The Artemis II mission is currently scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39B today at 6:24 PM EDT. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will carry four astronauts aboard the Orion capsule for what is expected to be a nine-and-a-half-day journey. This will be the first lunar mission of any kind since Apollo 17 in 1972, but the Artemis II crew will not set foot on the Moon. Instead, they will pass, hopefully setting a new record for the longest distance humans have traveled from Earth. The expected distance is 252,000 kilometers, about 4,000 kilometers more than the current record, set by the crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970. The main purpose of Artemis II is to help lay the groundwork for future missions to the lunar surface, the first of which is now expected to come in 2028.
NASA regularly uses fixed-wing aircraft to collect images and other important data during space launches. One of its high-flying WB-57F aircraft, regularly used to provide optical tracking, was also flying around Launch Complex 39B yesterday at the same time as NASA’s flight522. A WB-57F launched the flight from the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).
It is not clear why the RAT55 was called in to help, especially since the US military, and the US Navy in particular, has a series of different support aircraft designed to support missile test missions, and a history of using them to support NASA launches in the past. TWZ reached out to the Air Force and NASA for more information.
However, as already mentioned, the NT-43A has a sensor lock that can be very useful for space launch support. In addition to helping collect general telemetry data, the unique capabilities the spacecraft provides can be used to obtain detailed information about the various components of the SLS rocket and Orion capsule during launch. One of the functions that the RAT55 is best understood to perform is to assist in the verification of low visibility (invisible) aircraft surfaces. Special clothing and other equipment, especially to provide important thermal protection, is an important part of developing a space rocket and aircraft design.
While the WB-57F has more storage bays, as well as space for sensors and other equipment under the pods, the NT-43A offers a more capable airframe, overall, with optional dorsal fairings. NASA can fill this space with other systems to meet other mission needs.
Additionally, it is important to mention here that NASA only has three WB-57Fs, and one of them went down in flames in Houston, Texas, back in January. The current status of the plane is unclear. Whether or not this was a factor in the decision to use the NT-43A is unknown.
The Air Force has a long history of supporting NASA Moon missions, particularly with special fixed-wing aircraft. The Aviationist noticed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the US Air Force supported the Apollo program with a fleet of EC-135N Apollo/Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA), which were also used to track missile tests. ARIA jets carried enormous radars in their bulbous noses. The aircraft were later redesignated as EC-135Es and continued to be used for various test flight missions until the last model was retired in 2000.
Selecting the NT-43A for this task is still somewhat curious, given the US military’s array of missile tracking and telemetry aircraft, particularly within the US Navy. Those fleets continue to evolve, including the addition of the Navy’s Gulfstream G550 based on the NC-37B business jet. Global Hawk’s redesigned RQ-4 drones are now in the mix. There is a history of similar US military aircraft supporting NASA launches in the past. It is not clear whether other parts of the NT-43A will become commonplace, but it seems that its target is expanding. This is a very interesting development for an old aircraft that has been sitting in the shadows for a long time.
Regardless, the launch of Artemis II is very important to NASA, as a whole. There has been only one SLS launch before this, in 2022, and there were no astronauts then. The Artemis program has been plagued by setbacks and delays, with the original hope that the Artemis III mission would return Americans to the moon by 2024.
The video below shows the SLS’s first launch as part of the Artemis I mission that is decommissioned in 2022.
NASA’s Artemis I Launches Nov. 16 2022
NASA is on track to finally land the next Artemis mission with a planned launch today, and it’s doing so with help from the Air Force’s unique and rare RAT55.
Update: 7:42 PM EDT –
We have now received more information from the US Air Force about the RAT55, which you can find in the following story here.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
#Worlds #Top #Secret #Supports #History #Artemis