 |
|
 |
The solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing frames two modified F-15 research aircraft in a hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California.
|
|
|
|
| Photo Number: |
EC02-0031-7
|
| Photo Date: |
February 1, 2002
|
|
|
|
| Formats: |
524x480 JPEG Image (82 KBytes)
1117x1023 JPEG Image (494 KBytes)
3000x2750 JPEG Image (5,090 KBytes)
|
|
|
|
| Description: |
The solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing frames two modified F-15 research aircraft in a hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The elongated 247-foot span lightweight aircraft, resting on its ground maneuvering dolly, stretched almost the full length of the 300-foot long hangar while on display during a visit of NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and other NASA officials on Jan. 31, 2002. The unique solar-electric flying wing reached an altitude of 96,863 feet during an almost 17-hour flight near Hawaii on Aug. 13, 2001, a world record for sustained horizontal flight by a non-rocket powered aircraft. Developed by AeroVironment, Inc., under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project, the Helios Prototype is the forerunner of a planned fleet of slow-flying, long duration, high-altitude uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) which can serve as "atmospheric satellites," performing Earth science missions or functioning
as telecommunications relay platforms in the stratosphere.
|
|
|
|
| NASA Photo by: |
Tom Tschida
|
|
|
|
| Keywords: |
Helios Prototype; flying wing; 300-foot-long hangar; NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe; Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology; ERAST; 96;863 feet; Hawaii; world record; AeroVironment; F-15 research aircraft
|
Dryden Home > Collections > Photo Home > Helios > Photo # EC02-0031-7
Business | Education | History | Gallery | News Room | Organizations | Research | Search | Site Index 
