NASA’s next flying lab readies for takeoff after new paint job

For over 35 years, NASA’s 157-foot-long Douglas DC-8 jetliner and its extensive onboard scientific laboratory contributed to numerous research breakthroughs before retiring in 2024—including some of the first comprehensive studies of Earth as a singular environmental system. But high-altitude scientific investigations are not ending just yet. That same year, the agency acquired a Boeing B777-200ER to not only replace the DC-8, but widen the scope of its experimental capabilities. Eng