Northrop Grumman-Developed RQ-4 Global Hawk Conducts Earth Science
“This innovative partnership not only provides for the activation of the Global Hawk flight operations at NASA Dryden, but also sets the stage for an exciting future of collaborative science missions and technology experiments,” said Kevin L. Petersen, NASA Dryden director. “The capabilities of this platform are unique and will provide NASA and Northrop Grumman some exceptional opportunities to advance technology and science through flight.”
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Due to a Space Act Agreement signed between NASA and Northrop Grumman, signed on April 30, 2008, an agreement has been reached. This will allow NASA’s Science Mission Directorate to conduct their research of Earth Science with the RQ-4 Global Hawk’s unmanned aircraft system, developed by Northrop Grumman.
The agreement will bring to flight two pre-production Global Hawk aircraft in 2009, recently transferred to NASA. Sharing in their use is Northrop Grumman, conducting its own flight demonstrations for several reasons—integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace, missions and airborne capabilities, and for expanded markets. According to NASA, the two aircraft are among the first seven built during the original “Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency sponsored Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration Program”.
Acquired by NASA to support its Airborne Science Program’s research activities, the Global Hawk has the capabilities to fly to an altitude of 65,000 feet at an excess of 31 hours at a time. With an 11,000 nautical mile range, its endurance and exception range allows it to fly non-stop from Dryden CA to the North Pole with a seven-hour loiter period before returning. The Air Force has also flown the Global Hawks for more than 22,000 hours in military service.
The Earth Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate is the primary NASA sponsor, who is developing plans to capitalize on the Global Hawk’s extreme range and dwell time. The areas involved are atmospheric chemistry and radiation science missions in addition to research on hurricanes. “We are looking forward to working with our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Energy partners to explore the unique capabilities of the Global Hawk to augment the current satellite and aircraft based observation systems NASA uses,” adds Dr. Michael Freilich, NASA’s Earth Science Division director, NASA Headquarters in Washington.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 12:44 am and is filed under Mission History, Space Agency News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
