“This unmanned plane is a true lifesaver,'' said Gov. Schwarzenegger. ”NASA’s Ikhana is one more incredible tool that we are able to use this year to bring real-time pictures and data to fire commanders, even when our other aircraft are unable to fly.”
As the flames from wildfires continued to rage, the slender, remotely controlled aircraft named Ikhana—a Native American Choctaw word meaning intelligence—darted through the smoky skies.
Ikhana is equipped with an infrared scanning sensor developed by NASA. This past week, Ikhana flew over much of the California state aiding the local, state and federal battle against the wildfires.
Ikhana’s infrared imaging provides real-time information on fire activity to commanders in the field, allowing them to more efficiently deploy their resources. In addition, Ikhana has proved valuable in providing information when conditions are too smoky for traditional aircraft to monitor fires, according to NASA officials.
“California’s unprecedented number of fires this early in the season makes it all the more important that we use every tool at our disposal to protect property and save lives,” Governor Schwarzenegger said.
Ikhana’s last mission was on July 8 when the aircraft scanned almost 4,000 square miles from Santa Barbara north to the Oregon border during a flight. The flights provide critical information about the location, size and terrain around the fires to commanders in the field in as little as 10 minutes.
During its mission the unmanned glider flew over 10 individual and complex fires along a route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, west to the Cub Complex fire and south to the Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County.
The fire images collected onboard Ikhana, are transmitted through a satellite to NASA. The obtained imagery is placed over Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth maps to better visualize the location and scope of the fires. The information is then transmitted to a State Operations Center in Sacramento, which distribute fire data to incident commanders in the field.
The remotely controlled Ikhana has a wingspan of 66 feet and is 36 feet long. More than 400 pounds of sensors can be carried internally and over 2,000 pounds in external under-wing pods. Ikhana is capable of reaching altitudes above 40,000 feet.
