Aug 16 2007
From The Space Library
NASA’s Ikhana, a Predator B drone adapted for civil missions, launched on its maiden scientific flight, flying above wildfires in California, including the Zaca fire that had been blazing in Ventura County since 4 July. The drone’s mission was to map the direction of the flames. The craft carried sophisticated instruments, which could capture images that conventional aircraft could not, providing intelligence to firefighters regarding the precise location of the front. Flying for 10 hours, Ikhana demonstrated its on-board infrared camera and its ability to transmit realtime images to command stations on the ground. Everett Hinkley, coordinator of the National Remote Sensing Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, remarked upon the usefulness of future firefighting tools like Ikhana, which could supply critical knowledge of the precise location of a fire so that responders could deploy resources quickly, without placing people on the ground in harm’s way.
Catherine Saillant, “NASA Drone Aids Crews Fighting Zaca Fire,” Los Angeles Times, 25 August 2007; Elise Kleeman, “NASA Drone Joins the Effort To Fight Southland Wildfires,” Pasadena Star-News (CA), 26 August 2007.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
