For Release: Nov. 12, 1997
RELEASE NO. 97-126
NASA LANGLEY STORY OPPORTUNITIES - NOVEMBER 1997
TAMING STORMY WEATHER. A NASA-developed system that can
provide pilots with up-to-date and easy-to-use weather information
is nearing the end of a six-month in-service evaluation. Under NASA
Langley contract, a Boeing-led team is evaluating potential cost
savings of the system as it flies on a regularly-scheduled United
Airlines DC-10. Called Cockpit Weather Information, the system has
been a hit with pilots faced with routing decisions because of the
threat of bad weather ahead. With near real-time data transmitted
directly to the cockpit via satellite and displayed graphically on
color monitors, the system has been likened to having "an
interactive mobile weather channel." Video and interviews are
available.
Public Affairs Contact: Keith Henry (757) 864-6120;
h.k.henry@larc.nasa.gov
I'VE LOOKED AT CLOUDS FROM BOTH SIDES NOW.Pictures from
space often show the Earth covered by clouds. In fact, more than 50
percent of the Earth is covered by clouds at any one time. Thin,
high clouds can trap heat emitted by the Earth producing warming.
Low, thick clouds can reflect the Sun's energy back into space
causing cooling. Scientists need to know how clouds trap or reflect
energy, and how much and how often they do it, in order to
understand what effect clouds have on our planet's climate. The
Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System
(CERES) instrument, scheduled for launch aboard the
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission observatory on Nov. 18, will
provide long-term global data on the Earth's clouds and energy
budget. Interviews, facts sheets, and video b-roll and animation
are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine Watson (757) 864-6122;
c.e.watson@larc.nasa.gov
GENERAL AVIATION VIDEO ANIMATION AVAILABLE. A 90-second,
3-D video animation illustrating technologies that promise to make
flying a personal airplane as easy as driving a car is available to
accredited media upon request. Pitched to appeal to any viewer, the
video shows a typical family taking their personal airplane to the
beach for the weekend. The technologies depicted are flowing from a
government-industry consortium formed to revitalize the nation's
general aviation industry. The consortium, called AGATE,
also aims to make flying a personal airplane affordable and safe.
STILL FRAMES TOO! Available by Thanksgiving will be four
high-quality still images taken from the AGATE video animation.
Public Affairs Contact: Keith Henry (757) 864-6120;
h.k.henry@larc.nasa.gov
STUDENT RESEARCHERS AID MARS AEROBRAKING. As the Mars
Global Surveyor (MGS)
repeatedly dips into the Martian atmosphere to slow itself down,
graduate students from the George Washington University Joint
Institute for Advancement of Flight Sciences at NASA Langley are
helping mission engineers determine how well the aerobraking is
working and what adjustments need to be made, if any, to the MGS
orbit. Interviews, images and video animation are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine Watson (757) 864-6122;
c.e.watson@larc.nasa.gov
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