Airborne Science Program
Image:Lockheed ER-2 709 taking off from Dryden.jpg
NASA's Airborne Science Program is administered from the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California. The program supports the sub-orbital flight requirements of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise. Dryden maintains and operates two ER-2 high-altitude "satellite simulator" aircraft and a DC-8 which is specially configured as a "flying laboratory" in service from 1987 to May 2024.
The scientific disciplines that employ these aircraft include Earth sciences, astronomy, atmospheric chemistry, climatology, oceanography, archeology, ecology, forestry, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology, volcanology and biology. The DC-8 and ER-2 are also important tools for the development of sensors intended to fly aboard future Earth-observing satellites, and to validate and calibrate the sensors which are used onboard satellites which currently orbit the Earth.
== NASA research aircraft types operated ==
=Present=
| class="wikitable" |
| Aircraft
! Number in service ! Introduced ! Research Center |
|---|
| McDonnell Douglas DC-8
| 1 | 1987 (end in 2024)https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/nasa-dc-8-retired |
| Lockheed ER-2
| 2 | 1981 |
| Gulfstream C-20A
| 1 | 2008 |
| Gulfstream III
| 1 | 2012 |
| Gulfstream III
| 1 | 2012 |
| Gulfstream V
| 1 | 2012 |
| Lockheed P-3 Orion
| 1 | 1991 |
Media
Image:Airborne Science Safari 2000 Mission.ogv|Airborne Science Safari 2000 Mission
Image:ER-2 in Sweden for the Sage III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment.ogg|ER-2 in Sweden for the Sage III Ozone Loss and Validation Experiment
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web|title=NASA Airborne Science Program|work=NASA|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/AirSci/index.html|accessdate=October 18, 2005| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20050929003701/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/AirSci/index.html| archivedate= 29 September 2005 | url-status= dead}}