BWB Arrives at Dryden
National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration Volume 48 Issue 1 Dryden Flight Research Center July 2006 Earth Science Dryden capabilities contribute to demonstration missions By Jay Levine X-Press Editor The Western States Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fire Mission is scheduled to begin Aug. 14, with Dryden and Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., assisting the U.S. Forest Service, said Robert Navarro, Dryden’s Altair project manager. The Altair, leased by Dryden from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., San Diego, will fly at altitudes of about 43,000 feet during missions, which will originate from the General Atomics facility at Gray Butte, Calif. “Altair is carrying an instrument that will penetrate smoke and ash and transmit the imagery down to a station on the ground,” explained Navarro, referring to the Autonomous Modular System, which uses multi-spectral line scanning that utilizes thermal channels. “The images will be available to the fire commander, in near-real time, and will show the fire’s hot spots to help efficiently use resources on the ground to knock down the flames.” In addition, software in the ground mission planning system will superimpose road maps and other valuable information EC05 0234-28 NASA Photo by Carla Thomas in near-real time to assist firefighters in General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ uninhabited Altair will begin a series of missions in August to prove the utility of unmanned air systems See Science, page 4 in carrying instruments to help field commanders gather information for use in battling summer wildfires in western states. BWB arrives at Dryden ■ ‘Flying wing on steroids’ could mark Ian Brooks, a Cranfield the shape of things to come in aviation Aerospace employee, works on the Boeing By Jay Levine Phantom Works X-48B X-Press Editor Blended Wing Body A low-speed, 8.5-percent-scale flight research prototype of aircraft.
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