A huge leap has recently been taken in Hurricane hunting. You are probably very familiar with the "Hurricane Hunters," aircraft crews which fly into and out of Hurricanes at continuing risks to their lives, in order to tell us about how our lives are likely to be affected by the storms.
A little-reported story, however, is that NASA has budgeted funds for several years of successful tests involving remotely piloted aircraft which do much the same thing. But at a much lower risk to human life.
The NASA project involves the use of drones powered by jet engines to fly over Hurricanes, drop sensors, and analyze the results. Already, the project is a success. See Scott Dance, "Mission to Analyze Hurricanes From Above Coming to Quiet End / NASA Goddard Scientists Use Unmanned Aircraft to Learn Why Tropical Storms Form and Fade" (Baltimore Sun Online September 26, 2014). (The title of this linked article refers to this year's project coming to an end because the Hurricane season is also coming to an end this year. It does not refer to funds being removed from the NASA budget for this project.)
The positive effects on insurance coverage availability for Hurricanes and Catastrophes are enormous.
If the project is allowed to succeed.
Please Read The Disclaimer. Copyright 2014 by Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved. No claim to original U.S. Government Works or Baltimore Sun copyrighted material.
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