{"id":579828,"date":"2026-04-02T02:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579828\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T02:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:43:19","slug":"worlds-most-secretive-737-is-supporting-nasas-historic-artemis-ii-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579828\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s Most Secretive 737 Is Supporting NASA’s Historic Artemis II Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

The TWZ Newsletter<\/p>\n

Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Air Force Materiel Command\u2019s secretive NT-43A<\/a> has been spotted in Florida, taking part in the preparations for the launch of NASA\u2019s long-delayed Artemis II lunar space mission<\/a>. This highly unique and notoriously shy plane, a converted militarized Boeing 737-200 variant (T-43) also commonly known by the callsign RAT55, has long been used as an airborne signature measurement<\/a> platform to support work related to stealthy military aircraft<\/a>. However, during a high-stakes space launch, its two huge radar arrays, modular electro-optical and infrared sensors, and other capabilities would likely be well-suited to gathering telemetry and other valuable data, as you can read more about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RAT55 was spotted yesterday flying over Melbourne, on Florida\u2019s eastern coastline, which was already highly unusual. The jet is very easy to identify, even in the distance, due to its heavily modified nose and massive aft radome protruding from the rear of the fuselage. The NT-43A seems to live at the Tonopah Test Range Airport (TTR)<\/a>, a high-security facility in Nevada long associated with shadowy<\/a> aircraft programs<\/a>. It is often spotted flying around Area 51 in Nevada and Edwards Air Force Base in neighboring California, both of which are major U.S. military flight test hubs. It is rare<\/a> to see it anywhere else<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The sighting of RAT55 in the skies above Melbourne aligned with online tracking data for a flight using the callsign NASA522. That track showed the aircraft \u2013 apparently miscoded as a C-130 Hercules transport plane \u2013 taking off from MacDill Air Force Base, situated to the southwest, and then flying an oval-shaped orbit in restricted airspace around the Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Complex 39B<\/a>. The aircraft then returned to MacDill.<\/p>\n

\"\"ADS-B Exchange <\/p>\n

The Artemis II mission is currently scheduled to launch from Launch Complex 39B today at 6:24 PM EDT. A Space Launch System<\/a> (SLS) rocket will take four astronauts in an Orion capsule<\/a> into space on what is expected to be a nine-and-a-half-day-long trip<\/a>. This will be the first crewed lunar mission of any kind since Apollo 17 in 1972, but the Artemis II crew<\/a> will not actually set foot on the Moon. They will instead pass by, hopefully setting a new record for the longest distance that people have traveled away from Earth. The target distance is 252,000 miles, some 4,000 miles beyond the current record<\/a>, set by the crew of the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission<\/a> in 1970. The Artemis II mission\u2019s main goal is to help lay the groundwork for future missions to the lunar surface, the first of which is now expected to come in 2028.<\/p>\n

The fueling process for the Artemis II rocket has picked up speed. The rocket is now more quickly filling with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.<\/p>\n

When the core stage is completely full, it will contain 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen. pic.twitter.com\/wejiCveeNb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NASA Artemis (@NASAArtemis) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

NASA regularly uses fixed-wing aircraft to gather imagery and other important data during space launches. One of its high-flying WB-57F research planes<\/a>, which are routinely used to provide optical tracking, was also flying around Launch Complex 39B yesterday at the same time as the NASA522 flight. The WB-57F conducted that flight from the Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Shuttle Landing Facility<\/a> (SLF).<\/p>\n

This is correct, there are two separate NOTAMs for support aircraft that match both flight tracks. This was an obvious rehearsal. pic.twitter.com\/X3i5RbP4T2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Dillon Shropshire (@Dillonshrop06) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"A stock image of one of NASA\u2019s WB-57Fs. NASA One of NASA\u2019s WB-57Fs, which carries the U.S. civil registration number N926NA. NASA<\/p>\n

It is unclear why RAT55 has been called in to help, especially given that the U.S. military, and the U.S. Navy in particular<\/a>, has an array of dedicated range support aircraft specially configured to support missile test activities, and a history of using them to support NASA launches<\/a> in the past. TWZ has reached out to the Air Force and NASA for more information. <\/p>\n

Still, as already noted, the NT-43A does have a sensor suite that would likely be very relevant to the space launch support mission. Beyond helping to collect more general telemetry information, the unique capabilities the aircraft has to offer might be used to gain more detailed insights into various aspects of the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule at launch. One of the tasks RAT55 is more typically understood to perform is helping to verify surface coatings on low-observable (stealthy) aircraft. Specialized coatings and other materials, especially to provide critical thermal protection<\/a>, are a key aspect of space launch rocket and spacecraft design.<\/p>\n

Though the WB-57F has numerous modular payload bays, as well as space<\/a> for sensor and other equipment in underwing pods, the NT-43A offers a more capacious airframe, overall, along with optional dorsal fairings. NASA could fill this space with additional systems to meet other mission requirements.<\/p>\n

In addition, it is worth mentioning here that NASA only has three WB-57Fs, and one made a fiery belly landing in Houston<\/a>, Texas, back in January. The current status of that aircraft is unclear. Whether or not this was a factor in the decision to utilize the NT-43A is unknown. <\/p>\n

The Air Force does have its own previous history of supporting NASA Moon missions, specifically, with specialized fixed-wing aircraft, which The Aviationist has noted<\/a>. During the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S Air Force supported the Apollo program with a fleet of EC-135N Apollo\/Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) planes<\/a>, which were also used to track missile tests. The ARIA jets carried very large radars in their bulbous noses. Those aircraft were later redesignated as EC-135Es and continued to be used for various flight test activities until the last example was retired in 2000.<\/p>\n

\"\"An EC-135N\/E ARIA aircraft. USAF <\/p>\n

Choosing the NT-43A for this task at all is still somewhat curious, given the U.S. military\u2019s array of other missile tracking and range support telemetry aircraft, especially within the U.S. Navy<\/a>. Those fleets continue to evolve, including with the Navy\u2019s addition of its Gulfstream G550 business jet-based NC-37B<\/a>. Repurposed RQ-4 Global Hawk drones<\/a> are even now in the mix. There is a history of similar U.S. military planes supporting NASA launches in the past. It isn\u2019t clear if additional roles for the NT-43A are going to be a common thing, but it certainly appears that its mission set is expanding. This is a very interesting development for an aging aircraft that has lived in the shadows for so long.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the Artemis II launch is especially important for NASA, in general. There has only been one all-up launch of an SLS before now, in 2022, and no astronauts were on board at that time. The Artemis program has been dogged by setbacks and delays, with the hope originally that the Artemis III mission<\/a> would bring Americans back to the lunar surface in 2024.<\/p>\n

The video below shows the first SLS launch as part of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022.<\/p>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tNASA’s Artemis I Launches on Nov. 16, 2022\t\t\t<\/p>\n

NASA is now in line to finally reach the next Artemis milestone with today\u2019s planned launch, and is doing so with help from the Air Force\u2019s unique and rarely seen RAT55.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: 7:42 PM EDT \u2013<\/p>\n

We have now received additional information from the U.S. Air Force about RAT55, which you can find in a follow-up story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com<\/p>\n

Thomas is a defense writer and editor with over 20 years of experience covering military aerospace topics and conflicts. He\u2019s written a number of books, edited many more, and has contributed to many of the world\u2019s leading aviation publications. Before joining The War Zone in 2020, he was the editor of AirForces Monthly.<\/p>\n

Joseph has been a member of The War Zone team since early 2017. Prior to that, he was an Associate Editor at War Is Boring, and his byline has appeared in other publications, including Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, Reuters, We Are the Mighty, and Task & Purpose.<\/p>\n

\t\t