Lockheed U-2C - Mountain View, California - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Wikipedia tells us:

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is an American single-jet engine, ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day and night, high-altitude (70,000 feet; 21,336 m), all-weather intelligence gathering. The U-2 has also been used for electronic sensor research, satellite calibration, and communications purposes.

A story plaque near the aircraft reads:

This U-2 aircraft, NASA 708, with its sister ship, NASA 709, was obtained from the U.S. Air Force in 1971 to test instrumentation systems being developed for the early Landsat Earth-observing satellites. The results were so successful that the program was extended, with the aircraft becoming significant Earth-observing platforms in their own right. Because they were capable of gathering air samples at altitudes above 95 percent of the Earth's atmosphere, they also became instrumental in studying atmospheric composition. These data made significant contributions to early ozone studies.

The NASA U-2's were the last of the original production run, started in the 1950's to remain on flight status. They were designed during the Cold War to overfly the Soviet Union to gather intelligence. Both U-2's were capable of being outfitted for naval carrier operations. Upon retirement in 1987, NASA 709 set 16 International Time-to-CLimb and Cruise Altitude records in two weight classes.

The work done by the NASA U-2's in the 1970s and 1980s continues today using ER-2 aircraft. These airplanes, with their larger wing and higher payload, are deployed around the world gathering data on Earth resources, celestial events, atmospheric dynamics, and oceanographic processes.

Information on this airframe extracted from Aerial Visuals

• Circa 1956 - Constructed as a U-2A.
• 1963 - Converted to an U-2G
• May, 1964 - Two U-2Gs were used in Operation Fish Hawk, the only aircraft carrier launched spy mission ever.
• Converted to an U-2C
• June, 1971 - sent to NASA at Moffett Field with civil registration N708NA
• Dec, 1976 - Civil registration, N708NA, cancelled
• Jan, 1991 - To Moffett Field Museum

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): U-2 family Tail Number: (S/N): 56-6681 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Moffett Field Museum inside / outside: outside Access restrictions: RESTRICTED ACCESS: Access the base by telling the guard, you want to visit the Moffett Field Museum: Wed-Sat, 10am - 3pm Other Information:: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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