NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems

News

From the Miami Herald - Drone aircraft being used in hurricane research (3/25/2008 external)
Unmanned, remote-controlled airplanes are being used by the U.S. government to conduct dangerous research missions into hurricanes.

From the Boulder Daily Camera - Unmanned planes head into danger (2/4/2008 external)
Beginning this spring, unmanned planes will be recruited to go on research missions -- to diminishing ice shelves, the eyes of hurrincanes and the hearts of heavy rainstorms -- deemed too risky for humans.

From Earth & Sky - Robot aircraft do dirty work of science (Feb 2008 external link)
Marty Ralph of ESRL tells Earth & Sky that in addition to chasing hurricanes, the robot planes will gauge the potential for flooding from Pacific storms and better measure the melt of Arctice ice.

From Slashdot - Robot Planes to Track Weather and Climate (1/24/08 external link)
Drone aircraft would be outfitted with special sensors and technology to help NOAA scientists better predict a hurricane's intensity and track, how fast Arctic summer ice will melt, and whether soggy Pacific storms will flood West Coast cities.

From vnunet.com - Robot planes take to the skies (1/22/08 external link)
Robot craft will be sent on monitoring missions this summer that are either too long or too perilous for human operations.

From BioMedicine - NOAA invests $3 million for unmanned aircraft system testing (1/22/08 external link)
Unmanned aircraft bearing automated sensors may soon help NOAA scientists better predict a hurricanes intensity and track, how fast Arctic summer ice will melt, and whether soggy Pacific storms will flood West Coast cities.

From HurricaneHunters.blogspot.com - Unmanned aircraft could boost hurricane-monitoring (1/22/08 external link)
Unlike manned aircraft, which are generally safe but put people at risk, unmanned craft theoretically could operate for sustained periods at lower altitudes and give meteorologists a continuous sampling of data, including wind speed, temperature, pressure and moisture.

From United Press International - NOAA to test climate data-gathering drones (1/22/08 external link)
Unmanned aircraft may soon be flying into hurricanes and over the Arctic ice to test if they can be used on risky flights.

From Coloradoan.com - Feds sending unpiloted aircraft into dangerous storms to gather climate info (1/23/08 external link)
Federal researchers plan to start sending unmanned aircraft into the eyes of hurricanes on missions deemed too dangerous for humans, but valuable for the more accurate information they could produce.

From Reuters - Unmanned aircraft could boost hurricane-monitoring (1/22/08 external link)
At an American Meteorological Society meeting in New Orleans, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists announced a three-year program initially funded with $3 million to study use of unmanned aircraft in hurricanes.

From USA Today - Robot planes to take on "dangerous, dull, or dirty" missions (1/22/08 external link)
For research missions that are too "dangerous, dull or dirty" for pilots and scientists, new unmanned aircraft will take to the skies this summer to observe Atlantic hurricanes and Arctic ice patterns.

From BBC News - Robots to collect dangerous data (1/23/08 external link)
Robot planes have long been used by the military, but they are now being adapted for scientific use. NOAA researchers say it could revolutionise the way the Earth's systems are monitored.

From EarthSkyBlogs - Hurricanes on a plane - Jorge Salazar (1/22/08 external link)
NOAA plans to develop a program of robotic aircraft that will carry automated sensors to do the dirty work of obtaining important scientific data on hard-to-measure phenomena such as hurricanes and storms over the Pacific ocean, sea ice, snow pack, and wildfires.

From PalmBeachPost.com - Send in the Drones (1/22/08)
Why shouldn't hurricane forecasters get in on the fun of playing with remote-controlled planes? Good news: They are.

From KHNL News: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's New Eye in the Sky (12/14/07 external link)
During missions at sea, the "Malolo One" can be hand launched from boats. It's equipped with a camera and a GPS engine, sending information to a base station to help identify marine debris.

Pilotless Aircraft Flies Toward Eye of Hurricane for First Time
A pilotless hurricane hunter is being flown by remote control into hurricane force winds for the first time to give researchers from NOAA and NASA a real time, low altitude look at a storm with hurricane category 1 winds hovering around 80 miles per hour.

Monitoring Environmental Change . . . Like a Hawk - Envirocast Volume 2, Issue 2 September 2007
A Storm Center Publication (www.stormcenter.com) discussing the possibilities for using UAS to bridge the observation gap during severe weather events.

Washington Post Science Chat (10/08/2007 external link)
Washington Post staff writer Christopher Lee was online Monday, Oct. 8 to discuss efforts to learn more about how hurricanes behave. He was joined by Joseph Cione, a hurricane researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the lead scientist on a U.S. Government project that aims to send an unmanned aerial drone with weather-watching equipment deep into a hurricane.

From Honolulu Star Bulletin: Search for sea debris will be on autopilot (9/18/2007 external link)
NOAA will use an unmanned aircraft, the Malolo, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to search for drifting marine debris, which will then be collected by the Sette, a NOAA vessel. It is hoped that the Malolo can also be used to count monk seals and sea turtles on remote islands and atolls.

Message from the Under Secretary - Unmanned Aircraft Ready for Hurricane Test (08/24/2007)
Researchers from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are ready to test an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in hurricanes that come within range of the launching site at Naval Air Station Key West.

NASA Ikhana News
Links to information and articles about the Ikhana Wildfire Imaging Missions.

Aerospace America - Commentary by V.Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr. (Ret.) (.pdf)

Unmanned Systems - Published by AUVSI for the Unmanned Systems Industry (.pdf)

From Aero-News.Net: NASA Supports UAS Fire Mapping Efforts in CA Fire (external) – PDF Version

From LA Times: Firefighters contain most of fatal Esperanza blaze (.pdf) (10/30/2006) On Saturday, October 28, the NASA Fire Mission flew one more flight with the NASA AMS-Wildfire sensor (but, without NOAA UCATS, NASA REVEAL, or NASA ARGUS) over the Esperanza, California fire.

From GovExec.com: Unmanned aerial vehicles get funding boost (10/05/06 external link)

From MSNBC.com: Unmanned drones to probe hurricanes (9/8/06 external link)

From the Boulder Daily Camera > News > Science: Unmanned Science Takes Flight (8/20/06)

July 13 Senate Hearing Testimonies "Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Alaska and the Pacific Region: A Framework for the Nation" (external link)

Message from the Under Secretary - "Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Alaska and the Pacific Region"

NOAA Missions Now Utilizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems

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