Nov 12 1996
From The Space Library
In its annual contest, Popular Science magazine honored NASA's experimental flight-control system as one of the best technological developments of 1996. NASA had installed the system, developed for the use of NASA and the U.S. Air Force, in a remotely piloted aircraft called LoFLYTE (Low Observable Flight Test Experiment). On board the aircraft, the system used techniques involving neural networks to "learn" to fly, actually acquiring flight skills by mimicking the actions of the pilot controlling the plane from the ground. Neural networks are systems that learn skills by doing them. Scientists hoped the technology might eventually have an impact on commercial and military aviation.
A malfunction in an unpiloted test plane forced NASA officials to detonate the plane high above Edwards Air Force Base in California. The lightweight plane, dubbed Theseus, veered out of control during a routine test flight. Aurora Flight Systems had developed the US$5 million plane for long-term flights to observe climatic conditions from altitudes as high as 60,000 feet (18,300 kilometers). A spokesperson for Aurora indicated that the company had insufficient data to determine the cause of the failure. NASA had contracted with Aurora Flight Systems to develop the plane as part of its Mission to Planet Earth initiative. At the time of the forced detonation, NASA had not designated funds to develop any subsequent Theseus models.
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