New NASA UAV to Map Fires; Data to be Integrated with Google Earth
NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center took delivery of a modified Air Force Predator B in June. It’s maiden voyage, to capture IR imagery of fires burning in the western US is planned for later this month. The craft is called Ikhana, a Choctaw Nation word for “conscious” or “aware.”
What of the data?
Onboard the aircraft, infrared images of the fires will be sent to Ames and integrated with a Google Earth tool. The resulting product will overlay fire images from Ikhana, weather data, and fire data from satellites onto a single image that will go to fire commanders at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The resulting “strategic tool” will help commanders decide how they want to deploy their resources, according to [Brent] Cobleigh [Dryden’s Ikhana project manager].
Off topic: In our attic, when I was growing up, there were old copies of National Geographic. But there were more old issues of Special Libraries, for Mom, and Aviation Week, for Dad.
