![]() NASA was working with the Forest Service on a demonstration mission later this summer, but moved up the schedule in response to the widespread fires. The FAA is allowing NASA unprecedented flexibility to fly these missions in support of the California firefighting effort. "Because Forest Service assets are stretched thin, NASA was asked to provide additional resources as a supplement to existing infrared fire imaging operations," said Jim Brass, co-principal investigator for the Western States Fire Mission at NASA Ames.įrom a ground control center, NASA pilots are flying the aircraft in close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, which is allowing flights within the national airspace while maintaining safe separation from other aircraft. ![]() The imagery is then transmitted to the Multi-Agency Coordination Center in Redding, Calif., and the State Operations Center in Sacramento, which distribute fire data to incident commanders in the field. There, the imagery is superimposed over Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth maps to better visualize the location and scope of the fires. The first mission flew more than 10 individual and complex fires along a route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, west to the Cub Complex fire and south to the Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County.įire images are collected onboard Ikhana and transmitted through a communications satellite to NASA Ames. The flights provide critical information about the location, size and terrain around the fires to commanders in the field in as little as 10 minutes. The Ikhana aircraft imaged almost 4,000 square miles from Santa Barbara north to the Oregon border during a flight July 8. "I thank NASA for providing us with this important firefighting tool that will help us maximize attacks on the more than 300 active fires currently burning in California." "NASA's emergency imaging gives us immediate information that we can use to manage fires, identify threats and deploy firefighting assets," California Gov. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service have partnered to obtain imagery of the wildfires in response to requests from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the National Interagency Fire Center. The scanner operates like a digital camera with specialized filters to detect light energy at visible, infrared and thermal wavelengths. Ikhana's onboard sensor can detect temperature differences from less than one-half a degree to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The flights are originating from NASA Dryden Flight Research Center here. The flights by the NASA unmanned Ikhana aircraft are using a sophisticated Autonomous Modular Scanner developed at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. ![]() A remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California earlier this week, gathering information that will be used to help fight more than 300 wildfires burning within the state. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |