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Helios, NASA's Record-Setting Solar Airplane Crashes
Yahoo! News ^ | 6/26/03 | B.J. Reyes - AP Honolulu

Posted on 06/26/2003 6:47:47 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

HONOLULU -

An unmanned plane that set an altitude record two years ago broke apart during a test flight Thursday and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, NASA (news - web sites) officials said.

The remotely piloted, one-of-a-kind Helios Prototype crashed off Kauai within the testing area of the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a news release.

The $15 million, solar-electric, propeller-driven Helios had a wingspan of 247 feet and looked more like a flying wing than a conventional plane.

It reached an altitude of 96,500 feet during a 2001 flight from Barking Sands. The altitude, about 18 miles, was considered by NASA to be a record for a nonrocket-powered winged aircraft.

Helios crashed about a half-hour into Thursday's flight, which was intended to test its fuel cell system.

"We were flying at about the 8,000-foot altitude west of Kauai over the ocean and the aircraft simply broke up," said Alan Brown, a spokesman for NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.

The cause of the crash is unknown, Brown said. NASA is forming an accident investigation team.

Helios had been flying under the guidance of ground-based mission controllers for AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia, Calif., the plane's builder and operator. It was one of several remotely piloted aircraft whose technological development NASA has sponsored.

The prototype, powered by solar cells during the day and by fuel cells at night, was designed to fly at altitudes of up to 100,000 feet. It was designed for atmospheric science and imaging missions as well as telecommunications relay work.

Brown said NASA intends to develop another Helios aircraft, calling it "technology worth pursuing."

___

On the Net:

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: Hawaii
KEYWORDS: crashes; falldowngoboom; helios; nasa; pridegoethb4afall
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1 posted on 06/26/2003 6:47:48 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge
<img src="http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Images/helios_6_03_sm.jpg"/
2 posted on 06/26/2003 6:50:52 PM PDT by Normal4me
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To: NormsRevenge
The cause of the crash is unknown, Brown said. NASA is forming an accident investigation team.

Initial reports suggest the tail snapped off when the rudder was turned too hard.

3 posted on 06/26/2003 6:51:13 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: Normal4me

Doh!

4 posted on 06/26/2003 6:51:48 PM PDT by Normal4me
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To: Normal4me
Forgot to close your tag.


5 posted on 06/26/2003 6:52:01 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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To: Normal4me
Doh! Ya beat me.
6 posted on 06/26/2003 6:52:50 PM PDT by Larry Lucido
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7 posted on 06/26/2003 6:52:54 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi..Support FR . "California-Fighting the rising tide of socialism" . http://www.DRAFTTom.com)
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To: NormsRevenge
The cause of the crash is unknown, Brown said. NASA is forming an accident investigation team.

Flew too damn close to the sun.


8 posted on 06/26/2003 6:56:39 PM PDT by Luke Skyfreeper
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From Dryden Flight Research Center

HELIOS PROTOTYPE SOLAR AIRCRAFT LOST IN FLIGHT MISHAP

The remotely operated Helios Prototype aircraft, a proof-of-concept solar-electric flying wing designed to operate at extremely high altitudes for long duration, was destroyed when it crashed today during a checkout flight from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

There was no property damage or injuries on the ground resulting from the accident. The remotely piloted aircraft came down within the confines of the PMRF test range over the Pacific Ocean west of the facility. Cause of the mishap is not yet known.

The solar-electric, propeller-driven aircraft had been flying under the guidance of ground-based mission controllers for AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., the plane’s builder and operator. The lightweight flying wing had taken off from PMRF at about 10:06 a.m. on a functional checkout flight and had been aloft for about 29 minutes over the PMRF test range when the mishap occurred. The mishap occurred during a shakedown mission in preparation for a long-endurance mission of almost two days that had been planned for next month.

The Helios Prototype is one of several remotely piloted aircraft whose technological development has been sponsored and funded by NASA under the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, managed by NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. Current to power its electric motors and other systems was generated by high-efficiency solar cells spread across the upper surface of its 247-foot long wing during the day and by an experimental fuel cell-based electrical system at night. The Helios Prototype was designed to fly at altitudes of up to 100,000 feet on single-day atmospheric science and imaging missions, as well as perform multi-day telecommunications relay missions at altitudes of 50,000 to 65,000 feet.

The Helios Prototype set a world altitude record for winged aircraft of 96,863 feet during a flight from the Navy facility at Barking Sands, Kauai, in August 2001.

An accident investigation team will be formed by NASA and supported by AeroVironment and the U.S. Navy to determine the exact cause of the Helios Prototype mishap.

9 posted on 06/26/2003 6:56:57 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi..Support FR . "California-Fighting the rising tide of socialism" . http://www.DRAFTTom.com)
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To: Sam Cree
A ping for when you return.
10 posted on 06/26/2003 7:08:52 PM PDT by Bear_in_RoseBear (Don't know why, just thought it was cool.)
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To: NormsRevenge
An unmanned plane that set an altitude record two years ago broke apart during a test flight Thursday and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, NASA (news - web sites) officials said.

The remotely piloted, one-of-a-kind ($15 million, solar-electric, propeller-driven Helios had a wingspan of 247 feet and looked more like a flying wing than a conventional plane) Helios Prototype crashed off Kauai within the testing area of the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a news release.

one of a kind...
$15 million dollar prototype...

flown over the Pacific Ocean rather than the mainland...

NASA's management policies shine yet again.

11 posted on 06/26/2003 7:12:20 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
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To: NormsRevenge
The cause of the crash is unknown

Advanced composite materials is still an art.

12 posted on 06/26/2003 7:15:37 PM PDT by RightWhale (gazing at shadows)
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To: DoughtyOne
It was being flown in a test out at PMRF.

I hate to break it to you, but PMRF's sensors don't have very good coverage over land. You want the data, you fly over water.
13 posted on 06/26/2003 7:17:30 PM PDT by Poohbah (I must be all here, because I'm not all there!)
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To: Poohbah
Well I don't know how to break it to you, but $15 million is the price tag for replacing the unit. Now there's a win/win. Care to guess how much money this delay will cost the good old taxpayer. I'm sure you've got the bucks to cover it.
14 posted on 06/26/2003 7:32:25 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
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To: NormsRevenge
Well, it's perfectly obvious what happened-----

the center wing fuel tank must have exploded.

15 posted on 06/26/2003 7:34:29 PM PDT by Rockpile
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To: DoughtyOne
Well I don't know how to break it to you, but $15 million is the price tag for replacing the unit. Now there's a win/win. Care to guess how much money this delay will cost the good old taxpayer. I'm sure you've got the bucks to cover it.

Airplanes break. Sometimes they break at inconvenient moments. And Helios wouldn't have been repairable if it came down over land--something this lightweight just falls apart if one component fails.

So, no matter what, you're out $15 million.

16 posted on 06/26/2003 7:36:16 PM PDT by Poohbah (I must be all here, because I'm not all there!)
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To: Poohbah
Perhaps you're right. I would suspect it might cost $15 million to replace it, since R&D played into that figure. Still, new ideas might be incorporated in the replacement, which 'could' drive the cost up again.

I'll bet NASA almost goes into shock with every new negative announcement these days.
17 posted on 06/26/2003 7:41:57 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
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To: Normal4me; Larry Lucido; NormsRevenge; Luke Skyfreeper; DoughtyOne; RightWhale
For $15 million it was/is a bargain.

Flexible bendable expendable.

Prototype for others here and abroad.

Smaller versions that fly skyspy will develop, military considerations and border control a biggie.

Compare the $15 million to the cost of just one space satellite or to one military aircraft.

No loss of life.

Incredible research benefits from this flyer already.
18 posted on 06/26/2003 7:44:07 PM PDT by autoresponder (. . . . SOME CAN*T HANDLE THE TRUTH . . . THE NYT ESPECIALLY!)
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To: autoresponder
I would agree with your comments regarding benefits, and have followed the stories with interest.
19 posted on 06/26/2003 7:45:35 PM PDT by DoughtyOne
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To: DoughtyOne
Perhaps you're right. I would suspect it might cost $15 million to replace it, since R&D played into that figure. Still, new ideas might be incorporated in the replacement, which 'could' drive the cost up again.

The folks who built it put a LOT of ingenuity into it. How many $15 million airplanes could hit 96,000 feet MSL?

As for new ideas: if they deliver a better plane for the same price, that's pretty much bucking the aeronautical trend.

20 posted on 06/26/2003 7:49:05 PM PDT by Poohbah (I must be all here, because I'm not all there!)
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