Drucella Andersen

Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

July 15, 1992
(Phone: 202/453-8613)

Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-1547)

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone: 415/604-3937)

RELEASE: 92-110

WORK BEGINS ON HIGH-ALTITUDE ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH PLANE

Construction has started on a high-flying, lightweight,

unpiloted research aircraft called "Perseus" that NASA will use
to measure ozone levels and other atmospheric conditions.

NASA sees Perseus as the first step toward general use of

advanced aircraft for many aspects of Earth sciences research
such as climate and radiation studies, tropical dynamics,
meteorology and for studies of the stratosphere and
troposphere.

"Aircraft measurements give a more detailed view than

satellite measurements," said Phil Russell, Small High Altitude
Science Aircraft project scientist at NASA's Ames Research
Center, Mountain View, Calif. "This view is often essential to
understanding how global change processes work."

Russell noted that Perseus is the first plane specifically

designed for science and is "a major addition to the set of
tools we have to understand the upper atmosphere better. With
the ozone depletion issue, it is even more critical that we
have a suitable platform to conduct cost-efficient science in
these regions."

The data will improve scientists' understanding of the

stratosphere -- altitudes above 40,000 feet -- including
possible effects of exhaust from future high-speed transport
aircraft.
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Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., Manassas, Va., won a $2.25

million contract to design, build and flight test two Perseus
aircraft. Perseus is being developed with funds from NASA's
High Speed Research Program and the Upper Atmosphere Research
Program.

Perseus will be delivered to NASA next year. Flight tests

are slated to begin in late 1992 at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight
Research Facility, Edwards, Calif.

New Tool for Atmospheric Research

Perseus has several advantages over other methods of taking

high-altitude measurements. Research balloons, for example,
are not as controllable as remotely piloted vehicles. Balloons
also are difficult to launch, are affected by adverse weather
conditions and sometimes burst, causing the loss of expensive
instruments.

NASA's high flying ER-2 aircraft, while they can carry up to

2,700 pounds of science instruments, have a 70,000-foot ceiling
-- well below Perseus' maximum altitude. Perseus can fly
higher than any other subsonic aircraft. It will carry up to
110 pounds of scientific instruments to altitudes of 82,000
feet.

"Since Perseus is unpiloted, there is an additional

advantage in using it under flight conditions that might
jeopardize the safety of a piloted aircraft," said Jennifer
Baer-Riedhart, Small High Altitude Science Aircraft Project
Manager at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility.

Baer-Riedhart said Perseus' first science mission, an ozone

research flight for NASA's High Speed Research Program, is
scheduled for 1994. The mission will improve understanding of
how exhaust from high-speed aircraft might affect the
stratosphere, including the ozone layer.

Perseus Specifications

Perseus will fly for up to 6 hours and cruise at its maximum

height for 1 hour. The aircraft will have a top speed of 150
knots and a range of 1,000 miles.
 Perseus will be made of lightweight composite materials,
such as graphite and Kevlar, much like high-performance
sailplanes or gliders. It will have a wing span of 58.7 feet
and will weigh only 880 pounds.

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The plane will be powered by a liquid-cooled, closed cycle,

rotary engine rated at 50 kilowatts that will burn a mixture of
gasoline and oxygen, diluted by recirculated exhaust gas.
Aurora Flight Sciences developed the engine under a $500,000
Small Business Innovative Research Program grant from Ames
Research Center. A winch-driven cable will pull Perseus
forward for take-off and the propeller will engage after the
cable is released.

Although a pilot on the ground can command the aircraft

remotely, Perseus mostly will fly itself using an onboard
computer with preprogrammed flight plans. The autopilot will
compute the aircraft's location using signals from the Global
Positioning System, a worldwide constellation of U.S.
navigation satellites. Perseus also can respond to changes in
wind direction and speed.

-end-

NOTE TO EDITORS: A short 3/4-inch video clip on Perseus is

available to media by calling 202/453-8594. A photo also is
available to illustrate the release by calling 202/453-8375:

Color: 92-HC-450 B&W: 92-H-500