IIRC, after Columbia mishap, and before the resumption of flights, NASA wanted to have a really good recordings of what's falling and hitting what, during the launch. Presumably, without pre-conditions for cloud layers etc. that a ground telescope would impose. WB-57 with side-looking camera was the answer. Apparently the thing has an air-conditioned equipment bay in the nose so that the payloads can be swapped as needed. An auxiliary equipment, from the company that I work for, went along - so that's how I learned about it. Made us all feel very special
