This is the only civilian C-141 in the world...

(NASA Ames Research Center)

KAO In Flight (with audio)

The KAO is shown here with the telescope's aperture door open in preparation for observing. You can see it just forward of the wing.

One of the tricky design requirements of this aircraft was to insure that air flowed smoothly over the telescope cavity. This was necessary for two reasons - first, to keep the airflow from tearing up the airplane and secondly, to allow good viewing for the telescope which looked out through that stable air flow.

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