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November 6, 2006
NASA SUPPORTS UAS FIRE MAPPING
EFFORTS ON CALIFORNIA FIRE
A team led by NASA and U.S. Forest
Service scientists
recently collected real-time, visible and infrared data from sensors
onboard a
remotely piloted aircraft over the Esperanza Fire in Southern California.
The Esperanza Fire, an arson-set fire that claimed the lives of five
firefighters, ignited on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006. Whipped by powerful Santa Ana
winds, it
spread over 40,200 acres, or roughly 62 square miles, destroying 34
homes and
20 other structures.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the Esperanza
Fire Incident Command Center
requested NASA's imaging and fire mapping assistance. The Altair
Unmanned
Aircraft System, built and operated by General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems
Inc., San
Diego, Calif.,
was prepared to fly in less than 24
hours. The flight was facilitated by the Federal Aviation
Administration, which
assures the safety of unmanned aircraft system flights in the National
Airspace
System. Recent changes to the FAA's organizational structure allowed
the
approval to be expedited, while ensuring no degradation of safety and
without
imposing any new temporary flight restrictions.
From an altitude of 43,000 feet, the wildfire sensor collected and sent
100
images and more than 20 data files containing the location of the fire
perimeter over a 16-hour period on Oct. 28 and 29, 2006. The data were
delivered in real time through a satellite communications link. NASA
and Forest
Service specialists worked to familiarize the fire management team with
accessing capabilities and sensor data format. The data from the NASA
system
were used by the Esperanza Fire Incident Command Center
to map fire behavior and direct resources to critical areas on the fire.
The flight project was sponsored and funded by NASA's Science Mission
Directorate. The team consisted of specialists from NASA's Ames
Research
Center, Moffett Field, Calif.; NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center,
Edwards,
Calif.; the National Interagency Fire Center, Boise, Idaho.; U.S.
Forest
Service Remote Sensing Laboratory, Salt Lake City, Utah; California
Governor's
Office of Emergency Services ; California Department of Forestry and
Fire
Protection, Sacramento, Calif.; and General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems Inc.
NASA also shares the grief of the fire community in the loss of the
true heroes
of the Esperanza Fire, those that gave their lives in the battles
against this
disaster.
For more information about the
U.S. Forest Service unmanned aerial system program, visit:
http://nirops.fs.fed.us/UASDemo/
For
more information about the
Altair aircraft or General Atomics Aeronautical Systems,
visit:
http://www.ga-asi.com/
##
Contact:
Ruth Dasso
Marlaire
NASA Ames
Research Center,
Moffett
Field, Calif.
650-604-4709/9000
This text is
derived from:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2006/06_80AR.html
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