NASA says goodbye to Viking

The US National Air and Space Agency NASA has announced that it plans to retire its Lockheed S-3B Viking N601NA (c/n 394A-1187).

The exact date of the final flight of the last operational Viking is however not yet revealed. The aircraft was built for the US Navy as an anti-submarine S-3A with BuNo 160607. It was later upgraded into an S-3B.

Disposed of by the US Navy, the Viking was registered as N601NA on 13 August 2004 and has been serving the NASA in the years that followed. For sixteen years it has been based at NASA John H. Glenn Research Center, Lewis Field, Cleveland (OH).

N601NA has been used primarily for flight communications research, including missions designed to help define communications standards to operate unmanned aircraft systems in U.S. airspace. With its flat bottom, where a variety of antenna was mounted, the S-3 was perfect for this task. The Viking also flies steady and goes low and slow, which improves communication with ground stations.

Following its official retirement, NASA’s S-3B will be displayed at the San Diego Air and Space Museum. According to NASA, its advanced air mobility communications research will be continued using a T-34 Mentor.

Photo: NASA