yepper to learn more about the Earth's
atmosphere
nASA has launched scientists are now
looking at a new generation of
inexpensive aircraft made specifically
for high-altitude studies called Perseus
it is shown here in a hangar at NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center in
California this remote-controlled blind
as I understand the song it's thin wispy
hangs and large 15-foot bomber made of
strong ultralight composite materials
the plane carries bottled oxygen to help
fuel its gas-powered engine
the upper reaches of the atmosphere it
has the ability to fly twice as high as
a commercial jetliner conceived by
Aurora flight sciences in Manassas
Virginia
Perseus can carry 110 pounds of science
payload NASA hopes to eventually
commission a fleet of inexpensive global
Watchers that can be launched anywhere
in the world I think the excitement is
that you're actually building a vehicle
that's never been done before
Jenny Bayer Reed hardheads a program to
expand NASA's development and use of
remotely piloted balloons the science
community per se is is a quote war
community so with these vehicles you
have a little more cost-effective way of
getting that type of data and
information and then if it looks like
you need more information to where you
need a a higher payload manned vehicle
capability you can then spend that money
to bring that extra source in Perseus
NASA's newest global watcher the first
and the family of low cost airplanes
designed to further
our understanding of Earth's atmosphere
in its effort to learn more about the
Earth's atmosphere scientific
scientist
the new generation of inexpensive a
draft made specifically for
high-altitude studies called Perseus it
is shown here in a hangar at NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center in
California
this remote-controlled slider has a
deceptively simple design it's thin
wispy wears a Raj 15 foot proper made of
strong electrolyte composite materials
the plane carries marveled oxygen to
help fuel its gas-powered engine when
climbing into the upper reaches of the
atmosphere it has the ability to fly
twice as high as a commercial jetliner
conceived by Aurora flight sciences in
Manassas Virginia first years can carry
110 pounds of science payloads NASA
hopes to eventually commissioned a fleet
of inexpensive global Watchers that can
be launched anywhere in the world I
think the excitement is that you're
actually building a vehicle that's never
been done before
Jeni Bayer Reid hardheads a program to
expand NASA's development and use of
remotely piloted vehicles the science
community per se is is a quote war
community so with these vehicles you
have a little more cost-effective way of
getting that type of data and
information and then if it looks like
you need more information to where you
need a a higher payload manned vehicle
capability you can then spend that money
to bring that extra source in according
to a roar a project manager Tom Clancy
there are advantages to keeping the
pilot on the ground while an on-board
computer interprets commands and adjusts
flight controls when you leave the pilot
on the ground a lot of hardware as well
as the mass of the pilot doesn't have to
be carried up to the particular position
word that you're targeting perseus like
a craft may enhance important studies of
Earth's protective ozone shield over the
North and South Poles
both very hostile environments it turns
out to be an extremely dangerous mission
for a man vehicle because of the cold
temperatures that you have below you and
the inability to glide home from
Antarctica in an engine out type of
situation remotely controlled vehicles
are under far less constraints than when
a pilot is in the cockpit this allows
the team to take some calculated risks
and reduce development time
Aurora's computer designer Martin Gomez
I made a change to the software this
morning which we're going to try to fly
tomorrow morning if this were a manned
airplane that would have paused our
flight operations for weeks if not
months adjustments are also being made
on a toll release mechanism that will
resolve handling during takeoff minor
changes such as the one that's being
done right now on the airplane can be
done in a matter of hours because
there's nobody's life at risk much of
the design work that made Percy as
possible grew out of a human powered
flight project at MIT called
Netherlands in 1988 this 69 pound craft
flew a distance of 72 miles between the
Greek islands of Crete and santorini the
ultralight long flexible wings were able
to keep the plane aloft at low speeds
breaking new ground in aerodynamics
building on their success several
members of the MIT team branched out to
form Aurora in creating Perseus they
borrowed from the shape and design of
the Daedalus wings
Greg Zack was one of five cyclists
pilots on the death
project capitalizing on his skill in
flying gliders and remotely controlled
model airplanes zach has gone on to
pilot Perseus okay ground equipment and
payout the towline Aurora uses an open
stretch of dry desert lake bed for
flight testing
I'm in position top okay go ahead and
accelerate and call Ella ready now
when all systems are sent the truck
accelerates gently lived overseas into
the air like a kite on a string
at 700 feet the towline is released and
the ground team engages the propeller
Perseus is free during operations Zack
communicates with a blank Stanley who
sits at a duplicate flight professional
announces a ground station Zack must
keep the plane in sight until coughing
laughs okay trypsin airborne Frank
Stanley's can take the Perseus control
if not Martin Gomez and Tom plant
sterols engineering of the plane and
keep communication ties with the NASA
tower and blood-stained with the Legman
the elements that these scientists are
looking for particularly in
stratospheric chemistry work are really
very volatile and if they come in
contact with the airplane they no longer
exist and so both the slow speed and the
ability for the payload to me in the
nose is very important scientists argue
that to positively determine the effects
of ozone depletion by man-made chemicals
or aircraft exhaust instruments need to
fly slowly through specific areas of the
upper atmosphere what we're trying to do
is give the atmospheric scientists the
ability to deliver his instrument to a
place in space as often as possible as
cheaply as possible this year Perseus
will attempt to fly higher than any
propeller driven remotely controlled
aircraft
a tremendous technical leap for the fact
that we're making an airplane which is
not designed to blow up people halfway
around the world is rather comforting
the end result of this air pool will be
a better understanding of the Earth's
atmosphere and I get a certain pleasure
out of that I'm sure most of us do
perseus NASA's newest global watcher the
first and a family of low-cost airplanes
designed to further our understanding of
Earth's atmosphere
you