Secret Boeing 737 spotted over Florida tracking Artemis II mission

Over Florida, where it took off historical During the Artemis II mission, an NT-43A aircraft, better known as the RAT55, was spotted. Arguably one of the most secret Boeing 737s in the world, it was a brainchild of the US Air Force, designed to measure the radar signature of stealth aircraft.

The aircraft is currently preparing for the splashdown of the Orion command module following the completion of the Artemis II space flight.

This "ghost" aircraft is usually based at Tonopah Air Force Base in Nevada and occasionally flies near Area 51 and Edwards Air Force Base. But on April 1, it appeared for the first time in a long time in the skies above Kennedy Space Center under the call sign NASA522. The aircraft, with massive radars in its nose and tail, circled in the restricted area above Launch Complex 39B until Rocket The SLS carried astronauts to the Moon.

Meanwhile, the Artemis II mission itself has entered the home stretch. The Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts—Reid Weisman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—is completing its 10-day journey to and around the Moon.

On the evening of April 10 (around 20:07 PM ET), the descent capsule is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. In Russia, this will be April 11. RAT55, after completing its mission, will likely return to the shadows until NASA issues another emergency call.

Comments

[Nexcom]

Listen, this is a 737-200 legacy.
The plane is so aged—just look at the engines. And it still flies. (Unless this is just an illustration for an article.)

[Infinity]

Quote: Nexcom

unless this is an illustration for an article

No, this is actually his photo.
But (text of the article):

A US Air Force project designed to measure the radar signature of stealth aircraft.

As far as I know, the plane's actual missions have never been disclosed. These are merely assumptions.
I saw another theory a long time ago. This aircraft could act as a data receiver for various low-power specialized equipment from a long distance (not necessarily its primary purpose). In that case, it's clear what it was doing during the Artemis-2 launch—collecting telemetry (or, more likely, backing up ground crews). But that's also a hypothesis.

[alexboguslavski]

The article doesn't address the main topic: what's up with the toilet on Orion?

[Nexcom]

.. the Orions refused to transfer their toilet technology to the Americans... Continue to live in shit.

[spirit]

What's up with the toilet on Orion?

"Turbachy" can't eat bread, just let them write about American "toilets". Do they have a weakness for them or something?

[alexboguslavski]

The sense of humor on VO is absolutely terrible. Its absence can have fatal consequences (seriously). There are hundreds of posts on the RuNet about the toilet problems on Orion; everyone has written about them, and even on VO there are at least two.

[Sensor]

Toilet humor is popular among elementary school children.

[ALCA056000]

How many minuses have they crammed in? Mattress suckers suffer when someone makes fun of their idols

[icy]

The splashdown ellipse of the descent capsule from the second entry into the atmosphere after rebound extends from California to Japan.

[phrases]

We should build a large space barge, catch and load the main couple onto it, send it to the Moon, and dump it out of orbit on the dark side, where they belong. Maybe things will be a little calmer on Earth.

[alexboguslavski]

Too close. I suggest the Sun. Further away, but 100% sterility from this infection.

[Severok]

Frankly, no matter how badly I feel about the mattress makers with their ambitions and habits, the Artemis mission is something that makes people remember other goals in life besides survival.