NASA’s DC-8 research jet arrived in Grand Forks on Sept. 14, 2005.

NASA DC-8 arrival launches new Suborbital Research Center

UND and NASA have teamed up to launch the National Suborbital Education and Research Center. The University will operate NASA’s DC-8 flying science laboratory, which carries international teams of scientists on global missions to conduct experiments and study changes in the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The DC-8 was delivered to UND in September and is housed at Grand Forks Air Force Base. The National Suborbital Education and Research Center is a unit of UND’s Northern Great Plains Center for People and the Environment. “It’s a privilege to be entrusted with the operation of this national treasure,” said Center Director George Seielstad.

“We intend to enable the nation’s best scientists to acquire new knowledge about Earth’s environment so that all of us will learn how to be better stewards of the planet that nurtures us.”

The DC-8 is NASA’s premier research aircraft. The highly modified plane can carry 30,000 pounds of scientific instruments and equipment, and flies at altitudes from 1,000 to 42,000 feet for up to 12 hours. Data gathered by the DC-8 have been used for scientific studies ranging from archaeology to atmospheric chemistry. Its first mission under UND administration: tracking the re-entry of Stardust, a probe that had been chasing a comet since 1999. The information gained in this mission is expected to be helpful in designing heat shields for future spacecraft.