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For release: 08/12/02
Radio interview release #: 02-201

Attention: News Directors
Radio Interviews Available

Remotely piloted aircraft used to fly over, around Florida thunderstorms; first such view to help NASA, university scientists improve forecasts

  • For the first time, a team of scientists will use an uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) to gather weather data about thunderstorms and show the safety and utility of uninhabited aircraft for science research.

  • The aircraft, remotely operated from the ground, is making history flying over the Florida Everglades.

  • In August, the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study will enlist the Altus II uninhabited aircraft to fly around and over — but not into — thunderstorms to study lightning activity and electrical environment.

  • The ACES team from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; the University of Alabama in Huntsville; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and Pennsylvania State University in University Park and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. in San Diego will control the aircraft from the ground at the Naval Air Facility in Key West, Fla.

  • The Altus II aircraft, with a 55-foot wingspan, is about the size of a Cessna aircraft. It flies at speeds of 70 to 100 knots (80 to 115 mph), can operate up to 65,000 feet and can carry over 300 lbs of various scientific equipment simultaneously.

  • The Altus II uninhabited aircraft, manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical System, Inc., is capable of flights up to eight hours, keeping it near thunderstorms from birth to death, providing valuable information with the potential to improve future weather forecasting ability.

  • Talk with an expert about the storm study and how it will help us better understand and predict weather.

Who: Richard Blakeslee, Principal Investigator
or
Tony Kim, Project Manager
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Contacts:

Radio Interview Information:
Grant Thompson, Media Relations
(256) 544-4159

Story Information:
Steve Roy, Media Relations
(256) 544-0034

For more information:

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