Fun and Science

Nickolas Logan and James Maslanik from the University of Colorado Boulder launch their Aerosonde® unmanned aircraft system (UAS) off a truck traveling 60 miles per hour across Ross Bay sea ice near McMurdo Station Antarctica. The UAV then lands on the sea ice and skids to a stop.

The Aerosonde® unmanned aircraft system (UAS) offers an impressive endurance of more than 30 hours (with a minimal payload). In fact, it was the first UAS to cross the Atlantic Ocean, a feat achieved as early as 1998.

This impressive endurance, as well as the aircraft’s flexibility and affordability, make it an ideal choice for remote data collection and reconnaissance missions for military, civil, and scientific entities. The aircraft employs a catapult system to take off from small, remote clearings, and also can launch from the roof of a fast-moving ground vehicle.

With these capabilities, the Aerosonde aircraft has accumulated several significant flight milestones including:

In 2007, it was the first UAS to penetrate the eye of a hurricane. Under a program administered by NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Aerosonde aircraft flew a mission of more than 17 hours, a record 7.5 of which were spent navigating Hurricane Noel’s eye and boundary layer.

During 2006, the aircraft set a world flight endurance record in its class by remaining in flight without refueling for more than 38 hours