Nov 25 1996
From The Space Library
NASA returned the record-setting, solar-powered, research aircraft Pathfinder to flight-testing at Dryden Flight Research Center. Pathfinder had set an altitude record of more than 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) during a flight on 11 September 1995. Wear and tear during previous operations, as well as a ground accident inside a hangar, had damaged the craft. NASA had hired AeroVironment to repair the remotely piloted plane. AeroVironment made several improvements and rebuilt the damaged portions of the aircraft. The company installed stronger rib structure and higher-efficiency solar cells. NASA had adopted Pathfinder in the 1980s after the aircraft's release from a classified military program.
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
