EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has unveiled the first Global Hawk unmanned system that will be dedicated to earth science research. NASA plans to use them to support its Science Mission Directorate and the Earth science community, which require high-altitude, long-endurance, long-distance airborne capability. The initial mission will be Global Hawk Pacific 2009, six long-duration missions over the Pacific and Arctic in the late spring and early summer of 2009. Twelve NASA and NOAA scientific instruments integrated into one of the drones will collect atmospheric data while flying through the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. (Source: NASA via PRNewswire, 01/15/09) John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi is home to a large earth science community, including NASA’s Science and Technology Division.
