It wasnt your typical payload pushed out the back of C-17 at 25,000 feet. Wednesday, a C-17 flying a test mission for NASA over Arizona released a 72,000-pound rocket-shaped payload as part of an evaluation of parachutes intended for the next generation of rockets intended launch astronauts and cargo into space. The C-17 and crew were from the Air Force Flight Test Centre at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Read more