India, March 21 -- NASA announced that it will conduct a live flight test of aircraft performing simulated wildland fire response operations using a newly developed airspace management system at 9 a.m. PDT on March 25, in Salinas, California.
The new portable airspace management system, part of the U.S. space agency's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project, aims to significantly expand the window of time crews have to respond to wildland fires. The system provides the air traffic awareness needed to safely send aircraft - including drones and remotely piloted helicopters - into wildland fire operations, even during low-visibility conditions.
Current aerial firefighting operations are limited to times when ...