NASA’s new Boeing 777 flying laboratory nears first research mission

The former commercial passenger jet has been modified extensively for its new role as a NASA research aircraft.
NASA’s new Boeing 777 is nearing completion of its conversion from a commercial passenger aircraft into a flying laboratory ahead of its first scientific research mission, scheduled for January.

NASA acquired the ex-Japan Airlines jet (registration N577NA) in 2022. The aircraft replaces NASA’s Douglas DC-8, which it retired in 2024 after 37 years of service as a research aircraft.

Based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the 777 is the largest aircraft in the agency’s airborne research fleet. It can accommodate 50-100 researchers and operators, carry up to 34t of scientific equipment and remain airborne for up to 18h.

The 777 has undergone extensive modifications to adapt it for scientific research, with the work divided between NASA in-house personnel and external contractors, including US aerospace and defence technology company L3Harris Technologies and aerospace engineering firm Yulista.

The modifications include adding openings and specially adapted windows to allow scientific instruments to collect data outside the aircraft, along with upgrading electrical and communications systems.

NASA research scientist Amin Nehrir says the agency selected the 777 for its ability to accommodate more scientific instruments and researchers, as well as its significantly longer flight endurance compared to the DC-8.

“What [the 777] allows us to do is bring together a much more comprehensive payload to address science,” Nehrir says.

Beyond increased payload, the aircraft’s endurance will allow NASA to improve how it conducts airborne research, enabling flights to more distant research areas without having to establish temporary operating bases nearby.

“We’re no longer needing to deploy right from the location where we’re interrogating the science,” Nehrir says.

This advantage will be put to use during the 777’s first mission, known as NURTURE (North American Upstream Feature-Resolving and Tropopause Uncertainty Reconnaissance Experiment), which will focus on improving predictions of severe winter weather events.

For this mission, NASA plans to operate the aircraft out of Langley, flying it to high northern latitudes to study Arctic winter weather before returning to Virginia.

Nehrir says this kind of research mission is something NASA “wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do” if not for the 777’s increased endurance.

NASA expects to conduct between one and three research campaigns annually using the 777, with flight durations typically ranging from 8h to 12h, depending on the requirements of each mission.

Glenn Jamison, director of the Research Services Directorate at NASA Langley, says the agency expects to complete the remaining aircraft modifications and resume flying this month, while also integrating the scientific instruments needed for NURTURE through the end of 2026.

The NURTURE research campaign is expected to begin in mid-January 2027.

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