ER-2S #80-1063 - NASA 706, ca 1996

ER-2S 80-1063 #N706NA
First of new batch aircraft to fly, in the 3rd time the U-2 line was opened, 1 May 1981. Delivered June 1981. Currently flying at NASA Dryden Research Center, Edwards AFB, CA.
Modified to "S" specs, and returned to NASA/Ames on 28 Oct 1996.

NASA acquired its first ER-2 aircraft in 1981 and a second in 1989. They replaced two Lockheed U-2 aircraft, which NASA had used to collect science data since 1971. The U-2s, and later the ER-2s, were based at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, CA, until 1997, when the ER-2s and their operations moved to NASA Dryden. The aircraft were platforms for a variety of high-altitude science missions flown over various parts of the world. They were also used for earth science and atmospheric sensor research and development, satellite calibration and data validation.