AeroVironment Helios Prototype

Helios Prototype
Helios Prototype in flight
Role Unmanned aerial vehicle
Manufacturer AeroVironment
First flight September 8, 1999
Status Destroyed in 2003
Primary user NASA ERAST Program
Number built 1
Developed from NASA Pathfinder, Pathfinder Plus and NASA Centurion

The Helios Prototype was the fourth and final aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. It was developed from the NASA Pathfinder and NASA Centurion aircraft.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.