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ERAST Aircraft are mission and business ready
X-Press Editor and Public Affairs Specialist "To effectively use the technological, human, financial, and other assets of NASA and the U.S. industrial base and to capitalize on the opportunities offered by an ever expanding technology base, we must carefully consider the marketplace and form partnerships with the private sector." Dan Goldin NASA Administrator From Goldin's introduction to NASA's Agenda for Change, 1994 One of NASA's aims is to develop the latest in technology, reduce the risks associated with using the new ideas and make it transferable to the private sector for commercialization. Dryden did its part Oct. 13 when it hosted the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Exclusive Preview. The event aimed to commercialize a whole series of new technologies developed and matured during the past five years. ERAST assisted in the flight research of a handful of high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that can be used for Earth science and commercial benefit. Aircraft companies exhibited their new products Oct. 13, which they developed as part of the Dryden-based ERAST Project. The aircraft included the Pathfinder-Plus solar flying wing and the larger, 247-foot wingspan Helios Prototype. Displayed aircraft also included the unusual multi-configuration Proteus and the high-flying Altus II and Perseus B. The firms that developed the aircraft for NASA includes AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, Calif., builder of Pathfinder-Plus and the Helios Prototype; Aurora Flight Sciences, Inc., Manassas, Va., developer of the Perseus B; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, Calif., manufacturer of the Altus II; and Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, Calif., builder of the Proteus. The Pathfinder Plus, Helios Prototype, Altus II and Perseus B are all uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) which are remotely piloted from the ground; the Proteus is a inhabited aircraft with a remotely-piloted capability. The ERAST Exclusive Preview event marked the start of the sale of these innovative aircraft and showed that the technology developed in the ERAST Program has matured into what is envisioned as a global market. Aside from demonstrating and displaying the aircraft that are now for sale, the Oct. 13 event also looked at the science and commercialization elements of the high fliers. All five aircraft were displayed at the conference, with the Helios Prototype and the Proteus flying brief low-altitude flight demonstrations. The conference brought together scientists from a variety of disciplines as well as potential commercial users of these aircraft, the first that NASA has helped develop for commercial purposes under a special program. Keynote speakers for the event included Larry Roeder, Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. State Department on the International Emergency Information Program; Rich Christiansen, Director of Aerospace Research for NASA's Office of Aero-Space Technology; and Dr. Marianne McCarthy, Dryden's Education Programs Officer. Roeder outlined the proposed use of aircraft developed under the ERAST project as an information-gathering tool to assist in disaster recovery management by way of the Global Disaster Information Network. Christiansen discussed why NASA officials decided to invest in developing UAV technology for civilian uses.He also focused on the unique nature of the NASA-industry ERAST Alliance as a premier example of NASA's efforts to reinvent government. He called the ERAST aircraft "new, bold and amazing." McCarthy explained NASA's education program and how education outreach supports Dryden's ERAST flight research activities. A plenary session featured three experts in remote sensing and resources management discussing how aircraft such as those developed under ERAST could aid in enabling science for commercial applications. Dennis Reinhardt, Director of Remote Sensing for Risk Management Solutions, Inc., discussed the value of UAVs to the insurance industry for risk assessment. He was followed by Stanley R. Herwitz, Professor of Biogeography and Earth Science at Clark University, who outlined the potential of using UAVs for remote imaging to assist in precision farming on coffee plantations. And Gary W. Darling, Chief Information Officer for the California Resources Agency, detailed the key role of UAVs in a major new approach to statewide planning and resource management. The conference then divided into two workshops, one focusing on the potential science applications of ERAST-developed aircraft, the other on commercial applications. The commercial user workshop focused on potential applications of UAVs as telecommunications relay platforms, use in high-altitude mapping missions, meteorology and other remote sensing opportunities. The science workshop focused on such issues as use of UAVs as airborne platforms for experiments in radiation science, stratospheric chemistry and related disciplines, with one presentation centering on the recent use of the Altus II in the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement study in Hawaii. In a related conference activity, about 70 students, teachers and administrators from Tehachapi High School, Tehachapi, Calif., toured the ERAST aircraft on display and participated in a question-and-answer session with NASA project staff in connection with ERAST educational materials used in their science and mathematics classes. |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: October 28, 1999 |
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