CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY REMOTELY-PILOTED AIRCRAFT STUDIES (CIRPAS)

A remotely piloted aircraft research facility is described that will p rovide new capabilities for atmospheric and oceanographic measurements . The aircraft can fly up to 24 h over remote ocean regions, at low or high altitude, and in various other challenging mission scenarios. Th e aircraft will fly research missions at speeds of 40 ms(-1) and provi de high spatial resolution measurements. Data will be transmitted in r eal time to a ground station for analysis and decision-making purposes . The facility will expand the opportunities for universities to parti cipate in field measurement programs.