For release: 07/23/2002
Video release #: N02-007
NASA studies lightning storms using high-flying, uninhabited vehicle
Based at the Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, researchers with the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES) are using an uninhabited aerial vehicle, or UAV, to study thunderstorms. The ACES team conducted their first research flight Aug. 4, 2002, using the remotely piloted Altus II aircraft to make four passes over a storm in the western portion of the Everglades. Radar, lightning, and satellite imagery, along with the aircraft flight track were utilized in real time to acquire the storm observation during this and subsequent missions. Information from the flight - which reached altitudes of up to 50,000 feet — gave researchers the
opportunity to test the range and altitude of a typical science mission using the Altus II twin turbo uninhabited aerial vehicle, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., of San Diego. QuickTime file, 2.7 MB (NASA/MSFC)
Based at the Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, researchers in August will chase down thunderstorms using an uninhabited aerial vehicle, or "UAV" - allowing them to achieve dual goals of gathering weather data safely and testing new aircraft technology. This is expected to mark the first time a UAV is used to conduct lightning research. The research is part of NASA's Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES), a collaboration among NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; the University of Alabama at Huntsville; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Penn State University, University Park; and General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego. QuickTime file, 312 KB (NASA/MSFC)
Based at the Naval Air Station Key West in Florida, researchers in August 2002 will chase down thunderstorms off the coast of Florida. In the summer, Florida is the best location in the United States to study thunderstorms because the large number of storms that occur there should provide frequent opportunities to observe them. QuickTime file, 48 KB (NASA/MSFC)
Newsroom Home | News releases | Photos | Fact sheets
Video | Audio | Bios | Press kits | Media services | Contact us
