In June 2024, a Gulfstream business aircraft ed NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Pilots conducted flights in a Gulfstream IV (G-IV) to evaluate its handling characteristics and familiarize pilots with it before initiating structural modifications. The research aircraft is ing the fleet of centers serving NASA’s Airborne Science program.
The G-IV will carry the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Next Generation (AIRSAR-NG), which sends and receives microwave signals to gather information about topographic features and how they change over time. The NASA Armstrong team's goal is to modify the G-IV to accommodate three radars simultaneously.
“AIRSAR-NG will combine three different Synthetic Aperture Radar antennas into a single instrument to provide a new view of Earthilitis’ surface more efficiently,” said Yunling Lou, principal investigator for the instrument at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “The capabilities of this new instrument will facilitate new techniques, such as three-dimensional imaging, that will be useful for future space missions.”
With these and other modifications made, the G-IV will also be able to accommodate a larger payload of scientific instruments, which could allow NASA to more dynamic airborne science missions.
“This aircraft will help Armstrong continue our long history of ing airborne science for the agency and maintain the expertise to conduct successful science missions for years to come,” said Franzeska Becker, NASA Armstrong G-IV project manager.
Transferred in February from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, the G-IV will undergo additional modifications overseen by NASA’s Armstrong team. Their goal is to enhance the agency’s airborne science program by equipping the aircraft to function as a more capable and versatile research platform.
The knowledge and experience of professionals at NASA centers such as Armstrong (G-IV, ER-2, C-20) and Langley (777, G-III) will help enable the agency to produce a well-defined, airworthy platform for science instruments and airborne science missions.
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With information: NASA
