NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
A Overview of New Technologies Driving Innovation in the Airborne Science CommunityFollowing a more than a century of scientific aircraft and ballooning there is a sense that a renaissance of sorts is at hand in the aviation industry. The advent of incredibly miniaturized autopilots, inertial navigation systems, GPS antennae, and payloads has sparked a revolution in manned and unmanned aircraft. Improved SATCOM and onboard computing has enabled realtime data processing and improved transfer of data on and off the aircraft, making flight planning and data collection more efficient and effective. Electric propulsion systems are scaling up to larger and larger vehicles as evidenced by the NASA GL-10, which is leading to a new X-plane and is leading to renewed interest in personal air vehicles. There is also significant private and government investments in the development of High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft. This presentation will explore how such developments are likely to improve our ability to observe earth systems processes from aircraft by providing an overview of current NASA Airborne Science capabilities, followed by a brief discussion of new technologies being applied to Airborne Science missions, and then conclude with an overview of new capabilities on the horizon that are likely to be of interest to the Earth Science community.
Document ID
20170006531
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Fladeland, Matthew M.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Date Acquired
July 13, 2017
Publication Date
July 10, 2017
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN43441
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Conference on Airborne Research for the Environment (ICARE 2017)
Location: Oberpfaffenhofen,
Country: Germany
Start Date: July 10, 2017
End Date: July 13, 2017
Sponsors: NASA Headquarters
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
airborne science
earth science
unmanned aircraft
No Preview Available