Up above the sky in an ER-2

NASA/Mary Ann Harness and D. Stuart Broce

During my training at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, pilot D. Stuart Broce took me from Palmdale, California, to the skies above Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands in a NASA ER-2 aircraft. He’s wearing a pressure suit to help him breathe, because the air is very thin where we went. We flew to an altitude of 65,000 feet!

NASA/Mary Ann Harness and D. Stuart Broce

That’s more than 12 miles, or about twice as high as a commercial airliner goes. It’s high enough to see the curvature of the Earth, but it’s only a small part of the way to the International Space Station, which orbits higher than 200 miles. We spent three to four hours in the ER-2 collecting data that will be available to scientists and students around the world for climate-related studies.

Traveling in the spirit of a Newfoundland dog that became one of the most famous members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Seaman Jr. will enjoy the sights of our home planet from the International Space Station,including amazing views of our national trails, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Trails Actand NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 60th anniversary.

The National Park Service and Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail invite you to learn more about Seaman, Jr.’s space journey! Follow his blog (go.nps.gov/NewfieNews) for special updates to see all of the missions in space and flashbacks to his training adventures at NASA centers and on the national trails.