NASA's Super Guppy in the hangar with SOFIA NASA's Super Guppy Turbine cargo aircraft in the hangar with SOFIA at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center on August 24, 2021. The Super Guppy aircraft, operated by NASA's Johnson Space Center, aids in the transportation of oversized aerospace cargo in a practical and economical way. NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), maintained and operated by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center, is the world's largest airborne astronomical observatory, complementing NASA's space telescopes as well as major Earth-based telescopes.