NASA designs drone for environmental missions.NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. , called Altair, for environmental science missions, such as volcanic observation, forest monitoring and atmospheric sampling. Altair is an extended-winged version of the MQ-9 Predator B military UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) , and was built to performance specifications established by NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. The Altair is designed for civil applications that have been developed under the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center The Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), located inside Edwards Air Force Base, is an aeronautical research center operated by NASA. On March 26, 1976 it was named in honor of the late Hugh L. , in Edwards, Calif. Altair has been designed to fly continuously for up to 32 hours. It can reach an altitude of approximately 52,000 feet and has a maximum range of about 4,200 miles. It can carry up to 750 pounds of sensors, radar, communications and imaging equipment. It is 34 feet long, with a wingspan of 86 feet. |
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