The AeroVironment Helios high-altitude, solar-powered aircraft flies in Kauai, Hawaii. Helios reached 96,300 feet altitude, the record for sustained, level flight for a winged aircraft.
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43 a.m. HST today from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Helios Prototype flying wing, built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, used solar panels to power its 10 electric motors for takeoff and during daylight portions of its planned 20-hour shakedown flight. As sunlight diminishes, Helios will switch to a fuel cell system to continue flight into the night. The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, is giving NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft will be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services. Helios is an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios can fly above storms, and use the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft is the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
Helios Prototype on lakebed prior to first battery-powered flight
Closeup of the Helios Prototype, the latest and largest example of a slow-flying ultralight flying wing designed for high-altitude, long-duration Earth science or telecommunications relay missions.
The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, is giving NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft will be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services Helios is an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios can fly above storms, and use the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft is the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
The 5 KW, state-of-the-art solar demonstration site at NASA Dryden is validating earthly use of solar cells developed for NASA's Helios solar-electric aircraft.
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43 a.m. HST today from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Helios Prototype flying wing, built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, used solar panels to power its 10 electric motors for takeoff and during daylight portions of its planned 20-hour shakedown flight. As sunlight diminishes, Helios will switch to a fuel cell system to continue flight into the night. The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, is giving NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft will be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services. Helios is an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios can fly above storms, and use the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft is the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43 a.m. HST today from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Helios Prototype flying wing, built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, used solar panels to power its 10 electric motors for takeoff and during daylight portions of its planned 20-hour shakedown flight. As sunlight diminishes, Helios will switch to a fuel cell system to continue flight into the night. The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, is giving NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft will be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services. Helios is an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios can fly above storms, and use the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft is the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43 a.m. HST today from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Helios Prototype flying wing, built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, used solar panels to power its 10 electric motors for takeoff and during daylight portions of its planned 20-hour shakedown flight. As sunlight diminishes, Helios will switch to a fuel cell system to continue flight into the night. The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, gave NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft would be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services. Helios was an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios flew above storms, and used the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft was the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
The first flight of a large aircraft to be powered by electric fuel cells began with a takeoff at 8:43 a.m. HST today from the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The Helios Prototype flying wing, built by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, Calif., as part of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program, used solar panels to power its 10 electric motors for takeoff and during daylight portions of its planned 20-hour shakedown flight. As sunlight diminishes, Helios will switch to a fuel cell system to continue flight into the night. The takeoff set the stage for a two-day Helios endurance flight in the stratosphere planned for mid-July. The Helios wing, spanning 247 feet and weighing about 2,400 pounds, is giving NASA and industry engineers confidence that remotely piloted aircraft will be able to stay aloft for weeks at a time, providing environmental monitoring capabilities and telecommunications relay services. Helios is an all-electric airplane. In addition to being non-polluting, Helios can fly above storms, and use the power of the sun to stay aloft during daylight. Key to the success of this type of aircraft is the ability to fly in darkness, using fuel cells when sunlight cannot furnish energy. Helios flew over the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility where favorable sun exposure and test ranges closed to other air traffic benefited the NASA research effort. In 2003 the aircraft was lost to a crash.
The Helios Prototype aircraft during initial climb-out to the west over the Pacific Ocean.
The Helios Prototype aircraft at approximately 10,000 feet flying above cloud cover northwest of Kauai, Hawaii.
Technicians for AeroVironment, Inc., jack up a pressure tank to the wing of the Helios Prototype solar-electric flying wing. The tank carries pressurized hydrogen to fuel an experimental fuel cell system that powered the aircraft at night during an almost two-day long-endurance flight demonstration in the summer of 2003.
Aerovironment technicians carefully line up attachments as a fuel cell electrical system is installed on the Helios Prototype solar powered flying wing. The fuel cell system will power the aircraft at night during NASA-sponsored long-endurance demonstration flight in the summer of 2003.
The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft.
The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft.
The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft.
The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft.
The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at Dryden in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft.
NASA's Helios Prototype aircraft taking off from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai, Hawaii, for the record flight. As a follow-on to the Centurion (and earlier Pathfinder and Pathfinder-Plus) aircraft, the solar-powered Helios Prototype is the latest and largest example of a slow-flying ultralight flying wing designed for long-duration, high-altitude Earth science or telecommunications relay missions in the stratosphere. Developed by AeroVironment, Inc., of Monrovia, California, under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project, the unique craft is intended to demonstrate two key missions: the ability to reach and sustain horizontal flight at 100,000 feet altitude on a single-day flight in 2001, and to maintain flight above 50,000 feet altitude for at least four days in 2003, with the aid of a regenerative fuel cell-based energy storage system now in development. Both of these missions will be powered by electricity derived from non-polluting solar energy. The Helios Prototype is an enlarged version of the Centurion flying wing, which flew a series of test flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in late 1998. The craft has a wingspan of 247 feet, 41 feet greater than the Centurion, 2 1/2 times that of its solar-powered Pathfinder flying wing, and longer than the wingspans of either the Boeing 747 jetliner or Lockheed C-5 transport aircraft. The remotely piloted, electrically powered Helios Prototype went aloft on its maiden low-altitude checkout flight Sept. 8, 1999, over Rogers Dry Lake adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in the Southern California desert. The initial flight series was flown on battery power as a risk-reduction measure. In all, six flights were flown in the Helios Protoype's initial development series. In upgrading the Centurion to the Helios Prototype configuration, AeroVironment added a sixth wing section and a fifth landing gear pod, among other improvements. The additional wingsp
The 247-foot length of the Helios prototype wing is in evidence as the high-altitude, solar-powered flying wing rests on its ground dolly during pre-flight tests at the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
Ground crewmen maneuver AeroVironment's solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing on its ground support dolly during functional checkouts prior to its first flights under solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
Ground crewmen maneuver AeroVironment's solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing on its ground support dolly during functional checkouts prior to its first flights under solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
Ground crewmen maneuver AeroVironment's solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing on its ground support dolly during functional checkouts prior to its first flights under solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
Helios Prototype crew chief Marshall MacCready of AeroVironment, Inc., carefully monitors motor runs during ground checkout of the solar-powered flying wing prior to its first flight from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
Ground crewmen maneuver AeroVironment's solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing on its ground support dolly during functional checkouts prior to its first flights under solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, Hawaii.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown near the Hawaiian islands of Niihau and Lehua during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
Technician Marshall MacCready carefully lays a panel of solar cells into place on a wing section of the Helios Prototype flying wing at AeroVironment's Design Development Center in Simi Valley, California. The bi-facial cells, manufactured by SunPower, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California, are among 64,000 solar cells which have been installed on the solar-powered aircraft to provide electricity to its 14 motors and operating systems.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown near the Hawaiian islands of Niihau and Lehua during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown near the Hawaiian island of Niihau during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
A technician at AeroVironment's Design Development Center in Simi Valley, California, checks a panel of silicon solar cells for conductivity and voltage. The bi-facial cells, fabricated by SunPower, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California, are among 64,000 solar cells which have been installed on the Helios Prototype solar-powered aircraft to provide power to its 14 electric motors and operating systems.
Technician Marshall MacCready carefully lays a panel of solar cells into place on a wing section of the Helios Prototype flying wing at AeroVironment's Design Development Center in Simi Valley, California. More than 1,800 panels containing some 64,000 bi-facial cells, fabricated by SunPower, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California, have been installed on the solar-powered aircraft to provide electricity to its 14 motors and operating systems.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown over the Pacific Ocean during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
An engineer at AeroVironment's Design Development Center in Simi Valley, California, closely inspects a set of silicon solar cells for potential defects. The cells, fabricated by SunPower, Inc., of Sunnyvale, California, are among 64,000 solar cells which have been installed on the Helios Prototype solar-powered aircraft to provide power to its 14 electric motors and operating systems.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown moments after takeoff, beginning its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown near the Hawaiian island of Niihau during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
The solar-electric Helios Prototype flying wing is shown over the Pacific Ocean during its first test flight on solar power from the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, July 14, 2001. The 18-hour flight was a functional checkout of the aircraft's systems and performance in preparation for an attempt to reach sustained flight at 100,000 feet altitude later this summer.
The Helios Prototype flying wing stretches almost the full length of the 300-foot-long hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The 247-foot span solar-powered aircraft, resting on its ground maneuvering dolly, was on display for a visit of NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and other NASA officials on January 31, 2002. The unique solar-electric flying wing reached an altitude of 96,863 feet during an almost 17-hour flight near Hawaii on August 13, 2001, a world record for sustained horizontal flight by a non-rocket powered aircraft. Developed by AeroVironment, Inc., under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project, the Helios Prototype is the forerunner of a planned fleet of slow-flying, long duration, high-altitude uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) which can serve as "atmospheric satellites," performing Earth science missions or functioning as telecommunications relay platforms in the stratosphere.
iss059e092346 (6/6/2019) --- A view of the Hardened Extremely Long-life Information in Optical Storage (HELIOS) case aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Hardened Extremely Long-life Information in Optical Storage (HELIOS) tests whether a data storage medium is resistant to space radiation.
German Parliament and Space Agency Reps visited Hyperwall, Satellite Servicing, WOW Helio and NIC Sept 19, 2019
The solar-powered Helios Prototype flying wing frames two modified F-15 research aircraft in a hangar at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The elongated 247-foot span lightweight aircraft, resting on its ground maneuvering dolly, stretched almost the full length of the 300-foot long hangar while on display during a visit of NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and other NASA officials on Jan. 31, 2002. The unique solar-electric flying wing reached an altitude of 96,863 feet during an almost 17-hour flight near Hawaii on Aug. 13, 2001, a world record for sustained horizontal flight by a non-rocket powered aircraft. Developed by AeroVironment, Inc., under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) project, the Helios Prototype is the forerunner of a planned fleet of slow-flying, long duration, high-altitude uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAV) which can serve as "atmospheric satellites," performing Earth science missions or functioning as telecommunications relay platforms in the stratosphere.
iss014e14541 (2/22/2007) --- A view of the BTN-ME experiment, also called BTN-Neutron experiment, attached to the Zvezda Service module as seen by the Expedition 14 crew during Russian EVA 17A. The BTN-ME experiment builds a physical model for generation of charged and neutral particles during solar flares. It also develops a physical model of neutron albedo of the earth atmosphere with regard to helio- and geophysical environment, measurement point longitude and altitude effects, time of the day and lighting conditions, atmosphere conditions. Also it develops a physical model of neutron background in the vicinity of the ISS in different flight conditions, as well as recording space gamma bursts.
A Centaur rocket control room in the Development Engineering Building (DEB) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The DEB, completed in the mid-1960s, provided office space for several hundred development engineers outside the center’s main gate. The location of the DEB emphasized the development staff’s separation from the research side of the laboratory. This control room at Lewis was directly linked to Cape Kennedy. The Lewis staff in Cleveland could monitor and back up the Lewis launch team in the actual control room at the Cape. This photograph was taken during the preparations for the Titan-Centaur-Helios launch on December 10, 1974. The panels to the left listed the countdown events for the Centaur rocket. The launch countdown clock can be seen above these panels. The two panels on the right listed events predicted to occur during the flight and the availability of the tracking stations. The clock above the panels indicated the time remaining before the launch window expired. The Launch Vehicles Division was created in 1969 to manage the launches of all Centaur and Agena rockets. The Launch Vehicles Division worked with the engineers to design the payload in a manner that ensured that its size and weight were within Centaur’s parameters. They also developed the proper trajectory analysis for the launch. These trajectories often had to be adjusted if the launch did not occur on the planned date.