NASA Chooses UASUSA Tempest Drone to Monitor Wildfires and Swamp Algae

By Mike Ball / 25 Aug 2015

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UASUSA Tempest DroneUASUSA, a manufacturer of small electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and developer of complete UAV-based solutions, has announced that its Tempest drone has been chosen by NASA to monitor subterranean wildfires and track swamp algae blooms in the Great Dismal Swamp Ecosystem, Suffolk, Virginia.

The Great Dismal Swamp Ecosystem is made up of 112,000 acres, and is a critical bio-diversity area filled with forests and a multitude of plant and animal species. The area has been highly vulnerable to lightning-induced wildfires, presenting ongoing challenges and dangers to this ecologically significant wetland. NASA has chosen the Tempest drone to monitor and track data in order to help come up with solutions to protect the area.

The Tempest is a fixed-wing electric UAV with a sailplane flight profile and an airframe constructed from a lightweight composite material. The aircraft will carry an advanced sensor payload to monitor the area and record the data required by NASA. In addition to using the gathered data to recognize problems, track patterns and plan solutions, NASA will also be able to assess the benefit these drones may have to future scientific and ecological missions.

Posted by Mike Ball Mike Ball is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passion for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years. Connect & Contact

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