Weather may delay solar-powered flight
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau
MANA, Kaua'i — A powerful jet stream over the Islands could delay today's flight of the solar-powered aircraft Helios.
The jet stream has turbulent winds reaching 90 mph in the region between 30,000 and 40,000 feet above the Earth's surface.
Although it is weakening, it may still be too strong for a flight today from the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, said John Hicks, manager of NASA's program for Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology.
Helios is a flying wing that measures 8 feet by 247 feet. It was built through a partnership between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and AeroVironment Inc.
The $15 million unmanned aircraft is controlled on the ground by two pilots using desktop computers.
This summer, they hope to fly the plane, whose electric motors are powered by solar cells built into the wing, to a record elevation of 100,000 feet, more than three times higher than commercial jets fly. Hicks said the flight could be delayed until tomorrow or Sunday.
"We're going to meet at 3 a.m. and at 4 a.m. we'll decide" after reviewing weather reports and the results from a weather balloon to be launched about 2 a.m., he said.
If the flight proceeds, it should take off shortly before 8 a.m.
"This first flight is to validate the performance and aircraft systems," Hicks said.
The aircraft will be held at elevation every 10,000 feet for tests of its stability and control characteristics, its structural integrity and the operation of its various systems, including the electric motors and propellers.
The plane should reach 70,000 to 80,000 feet in the first flight, which will continue until sunlight begins to fade late in the day.
Later this summer, it will be taken to high altitude without the stops and should be able to reach 100,000 feet before running out of sunshine, he said.
NASA hopes the flying-wing technology will lead to an aircraft that can store enough energy during the day to keep it running through the night, thus creating a perpetual flier that can be used in place of satellites for communications or imaging work.
