Had the opportunity to visit and photograph the NASA DC-8 Airborne Laboratory at
NASA Ames Research Center - Moffett Field. The plane is here to prepare for the re-entry of the
StarDust spacecraft. The plane has a large number of video cameras and telescopes to view and
assess how the heatshield of the re-entry vehicle behaves.

Two years ago, the Stardust spacecraft flew within 147 miles (236 kilometers) of the comet Wild 2 (VILT-TWO) and survived the high-speed impact of millions of dust particles and small rocks up to nearly two-tenths of an inch (one half centimeter) across. With its tennis-racket-shaped collector extended, Stardust captured thousands of comet particles.

This weekend, me and my friend will be somewhere in Nevada to view and photograph what should be a
very bright re-entry. WEATHER PERMITTING;-)

For more info on this subject : http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/

And to see a gallery of pics of this specialized plane : http://www.pbase.com/bryan_murahashi/jan_11__dc8_airborne_laboratory

BTW, my friend, Jim, got to ride in this plane for a three hour prep flight.