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Further Reading

C-5C

The C-5C is a Space Cargo Modified Galaxy specially modified to carry satellites and other large cargo. It is the only modified version of the C-5 that provides special airlift support for satellites. With the troop compartment removed and modification to their rear loading doors, it has a larger cargo area than other C-5s. There are two places to plug in external power, one for aircraft power and one to provide power for the payload canister. These two aircraft (68-0213 and 68-0216) are assigned to the 60th Airlift Wing at Travis AFB. According to some reports, the 68-0216 aircraft was chosen for the modification after it had landed with the nose gear up, and it was in need of refurbishment in any event. The the 68-0213 aircraft was supposedly selected after a fire in the troop compartment during depo maintenance.

In June 1997 the first US-manufactured element of the International Space Station, a component called Node 1, was shipped from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, to the launch site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, FL. The shipping containers carrying Node 1 and its ground support equipment departed the Redstone Arsenal Army Airfield in Huntsville via two Air Force C-5 Galaxy aircraft [one a C-5B, and the other a C-5C]. In April 1999 At Cape Canaveral Air Station, a Lockheed Martin crew offloaded an Atlas IIA rocket from a US Air Force C-5C Galaxy. The rocket was scheduled to launch the NASA GOES-L satellite from Launch Pad 36B.

Spacecraft, such as the space station node, are transported in a special canister, call the Space Container Transportation System (SCTS), which was built to fit into a military airplane, specifically a specially modified C-5C. The C-5C is the only aircraft that this canister will fit into, and it takes almost the entire cargo space. If a mechanical problem arises with the plane making it unusable, there is only one additional specially modified C-5C to use. The C-5C carrying the SCTS frequently arrives late at night, with offload immediately after arrival. Offload from the C-5C is an operation which can take about six hours to complete. The clearance between the SCTS canister and the walls/ceiling of the plane is about one inch. Moving the canister requires very slow, precise movements; basically it is inched out of the cargo bay.

On 10 December 1999 a C-130 was damaged in an aborted landing at Al Jabar Air Base, Kuwait, killing three and injuring 17 aboard, then diverted to an emergency landing at Kuwait City International Airport. The fuselage will be saved for evidence in the investigation and possible court martial of the pilot. Team members left Robins 17 November 2000 to transport the hulk to the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ. A 15-man team from the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron prepared the wrecked C-130 carcass in Kuwait for transport to the "boneyard." The team used a 16-inch metal saw and a jury-rigged axle to prepare the fallen Hercules for loading into the hold of a C-5C Galaxy.