NASA Ikhana Assists SoCal Firefighters

ackthpt writes "Ikhana (a NASA drone) is primarily designed for suborbital earth sciences missions, but may be fitted out with a variety of sensors. Wednesday, Ikhana took off from Edwards Air Force Base for a 10 hour mission to observe forest fires in California, scanning the terrain from 23-25,000 feet using a variety of sensors for visible and IR light. Able to remain aloft for up to 30 continuous hours Ikhana serves up information in minutes, a process that takes hours when done by manned aircraft observation. 'The data is processed on the aircraft, up-linked to a satellite and then downloaded to a ground station. From there it's delivered to a computer server at NASA Ames. The imagery is then combined with Google Earth maps. Command center personnel can view the images on their computer screens and then delegate local firefighters accordingly.'"

Comments

Re:Why does it look like the Predator-B?

[Neo Quietus]

Because it IS a Predator-B. From the first link: "A Predator B unmanned aerial system has been acquired by NASA's Dryden Flight Re-search Center to support Earth science missions and advanced aeronautical technology development. The aircraft, named Ikhana..." I know, reading the articles, I must be new here.

Flight track @ FlightAware

[mduell]

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/NASA870

Re:Now?

[LarryRiedel]

I hope the delay is due to this being its first use [...]

I think that particular plane is a NASA research asset, not part of some standard emergency response plan, and was not presumed to be deployed for that particular situation at all.

It's a little late to get maximum benefit from something like this

Maybe not maximum benefit, but I imagine the thermal sensors could be very valuable on Wednesday for places where it was not easy to tell visually where exactly fires were.

Larry

Global Hawk is being used as well

[HotNeedleOfInquiry]

I got a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) for Beal AFB, along with a message that they are using their bird to help with the fires. Global Hawks are the only aircraft at Beal that need a TFR to launch.

Re:Why does it look like the Predator-B?

[bcmm]

I assume a Black Hawk is very much at the expensive end of SAR choppers. They cost $6M each, in the standard US Army configuration (which is assault rather than SAR). A MQ-9 Reaper such as the Ikhana costs $8M, and can't actually pick people up.

Re:Now?

[ncc74656]

I'm surprised weather satellites can't provide any information needed for firefighting?

Weather satellites orbit at over 22000 miles away. UAVs can fly at an altitude closer to 22000 feet (or less). They can see things in much greater detail than satellites in geostationary orbit.