Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week - April 15, 2012

Countdowns
By Space.com Staff
published

Now Boarding: Inside NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft

collectSPACE.com / Robert Z. Pearlman

NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), has come a long way since it first took to the air in the 1970s as an American Airlines passenger jumbo jet. [Full Story]

NEXT: Exploring the Northern Lights: Alaska Aurora Expedition Coverage

Exploring the Northern Lights: Alaska Aurora Expedition Coverage

Roger M. Marty

A team of scientists is launching instrument-laden weather balloons to the edge of Alaska's dazzling northern lights this week under Project Aether: Aurora. Follow SPACE.com's complete coverage of the expedition in this story archive. [Full Story]

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.