Oct 16 2002
From The Space Library
NASA engineers completed a successful demonstration of a solar-powered UAV for remote-sensing applications. Engineers with NASA's Suborbital Airborne Sciences programs had guided the Pathfinder-Plus UAV throughout a flight lasting nearly 4 hours, during which the aircraft had captured more than 300 high-resolution digital images of a coffee plantation on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. NASA had developed the UAV for Earth science research, but project engineers described the flight demonstration as evidence that their integration of the UAV technology with decision-support systems would have additional practical applications. For example, project engineers hoped that the UAV technology might eventually enable farmers and ranchers to produce harvests more effectively and efficiently. The solar-powered UAV had a ground-controlled aerial imaging system. In fact, an undergraduate student nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away at California State University in Monterey Bay controlled one of the craft's digital cameras during the demonstration. (NASA, “NASA Mission Demonstrates Practical Use of UAV Technology,” news release 02-200, 16 October 2002.)
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