What did the Super Guppy carry for NASA?

Short answer

It carried complete Saturn V stages: it is the only aircraft to have transported a complete S-IVB stage, the rocket's third stage, weighing 27,000 lb (13,500 kg). It did so several times during the Apollo program. One Super Guppy still serves NASA: the Turbine N941NA, based at El Paso International Airport.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What did the Super Guppy carry for NASA?

Saturn V AS-506 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center with Apollo 11, 16 July 1969

The third stage of the Saturn V

The Super Guppy is the only aircraft that has carried a complete S-IVB stage, the third stage of the Saturn V rocket, weighing 27,000 lb (13,500 kg). It did so several times throughout the Apollo programme.

From a retired Stratofreighter

The original prototype was converted from a retired USAF Boeing YC-97J Stratofreighter, with major modifications: the fuselage was lengthened to 141 feet and widened to house oversized cargo. Its first flight took place on 31 August 1965. On 25 September of that year, during high-speed dives in certification testing, its fuselage collapsed. The Super Guppy was the successor to the Pregnant Guppy, the first of the Guppies produced by Aero Spacelines.

One is still flying

The Super Guppy Turbine variant is a large, wide-bodied, four-turboprop freighter used to carry components of out-of-gauge dimensions. One of them, registered N941NA, is still in service with NASA as a transport aircraft and is based at El Paso International Airport.