NASAs Guppy aircraft is being pressed into service once again, this time as a transport for a key element of the International Space Station.

The Guppy has played a vital role in the space program since the 1960s in support of Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects.

The specially modified Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, known in the military as the C-97, has had its fuselage widened to accept loads such as Apollo rocket stages. It also sports a swing away nose to load the cargo quickly.

These flying fish have also been credited for speeding up the Apollo program.

The only other way to ship the rocket stages from the factory in California to the launch facilities in Florida would have been with a ship going through the Panama Canal.