The only NASA Super Guppy still in service, and used to transport cargo too large for any other air transport, made a stop at the Grand Junction Regional Airport today.

Called the Super Guppy, a nickname given to the airplane because its body is shaped like a guppy (the fish), the aircraft is one of a total of five ever built and the only one currently flight ready.

How big is the Super Guppy?

  • Length - 143 ft 10 in
  • Height - 48 ft 6 in
  • Wingspan - 156 ft 3 in
  • Empty Weight - 101,500 lb
  • Useful Load - 54,500 lb
  • Cargo Bay Dimensions - 111 ft × 25 ft × 25 ft

The Super Guppy is in Grand Junction to pick up a T-38 jet airplane similar to the one pictured. That's right, a jet - and then some - can fit inside the Guppy.

In April, the Super Guppy transported space hardware for NASA's Space Launch System from the U.S. Army’s Redstone Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SLS is the agency's new deep-space rocket that will be used to transport astronauts on exploration missions far into the solar system.

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