Almost nine years after two gigantic hangars were built to house C-130s for maintenance operations at South Alabama Regional Airport, a NASA aircraft landed there Friday for five months of work.

The Kearns Group of Daleville and Pinnacle Solutions of Huntsville will perform aircraft modifications for NASA on their C-130 Aircraft. The modifications include both electrical and structural modifications to the airframe, along with other minor installations, according to a release from The Kearns Group. Pinnacle is the prime contractor.

The Kearns Group, LLC is a veteran-owned small business that offers a diverse range of value-enhanced aviation business development, management, technical and creative services. Andalusia resident Ronnie Kearns is president and CEO of the company.

The Kearns Group recently entered a short-term lease agreement with the Southeast Alabama Regional Airport Authority for the hangars, most recently leased by DRS. Kearns said the C-130 project underway here is on a very tight schedule with an estimated departure date of no later than Oct. 2.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with SARA in this effort,” Kearns said. “The availability of the C-130 hangars along with the cooperation of the SARA Authority, DRS, local leadership and the Covington County Economic Development Commission (CCEDC) contributed to our success in securing this contract.”

CCEDC executive director Rick Clifton echoed Kearn’s praise.

“There were many pieces of this that had to come together to make this work,” he said. “We appreciate all who helped in the effort.”

The aircraft was flown from Virginia to Andalusia on Friday.

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility added the C-130 Hercules to its fleet in 2013. Formerly a U.S. Air Force aircraft, the C-130 brings the range and cargo capacity needed to serve as a long-range airborne laboratory and to carry cargo in support of science missions around the world.

Its first airborne mission was in support of the September 2013 IceBridge campaign to Greenland. It was then deployed to Christchurch, New Zealand, to provide logistical support for IceBridge’s Antarctic campaign based in Antarctica’s McMurdo Station.

Pinnacle Solutions is a SEI CMMI® DEV Version 1.2, Level 3 appraised and ISO 9001:2008 registered and Veterans’ Administration certified service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). The company has personnel in Ft. Rucker, Ala.; Millenhall, England; Stennis Space Center, Miss.; Wallops Flight Facility, Va.; Longtan, Taiwan; Taichung, Taiwan; Ft. Campbell, Ky; and Lexington, Ky.