NASA to Conduct Low-Altitude Flights Near Houston

Five research aircraft will support a Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) mission out of Ellington Field in Houston. Flights are expected from Wednesday, June 3 to Saturday, June 13. During the mission, select maneuvers will be conducted at low altitudes over the Houston area.

Pilots will fly remote sensing payloads in raster patterns, or parallel back-and-forth lines. The instruments could help researchers map the movement of the gases and particles that make up Earth’s atmosphere, changes to the lowest part of the atmosphere near the coastline, and natural processes affecting the land and water in that area.

Operations will primarily take place in the Houston area, with some flights extending over the Gulf of America. While many flights will operate at higher altitudes, a WP-3D Orion will conduct maneuvers as low as 1,000 feet above ground level.

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