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NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Ikhana, Successfully Flight Tested
NASA's Unmanned Aircraft Ikhana, Successfully Flight Tested
According to the US Space Agency Report, NASA for the first time has successfully flown its large remote-piloted Ikhana aircraft in the public airspace without a safety chase airplanes,
It is a modified General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator B unmanned aircraft system being used by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA, for a variety of environmental science and aeronautical research roles
NASA's unmanned aircraft 'Ikhana' will make search and rescue operations efficient
As per the NASA's official statement, the successful flight of 'Ikhana' moves the US one step closer to normalizing unmanned aircraft operations in the airspace used by commercial and private pilots.
The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California and entered into the Class-A airspace, where commercial airliners fly, just west of Edwards at an altitude of about 20,000 feet.
On the return trip, the pilot began a gentle descent over the city of Tehachapi, California, into Class E airspace about 10,000 feet, where general aviation pilots fly.
The Ikhana was granted special permission by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct this flight.
Ikhana was the first remotely-piloted aircraft to use airborne detect and avoid technology enabling the remote pilot on the ground to see and avoid other aircraft during the flight to meet the intent of the FAA's "see and avoid" rules.
