![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ed07-0027-56large.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>NASA\u2019s C-20A research aircraft takes off from the Edwards Air Force Base runway on an envelope-expansion flight test with the unmanned aerial vehicle synthetic aperture radar pod. <\/p><\/div>\n
Five research\u00a0aircraft\u00a0will support a Student Airborne Research Program (SARP<\/a>) mission out of Ellington Field in Houston. Flights are expected from Wednesday, June 3 to Saturday, June 13.\u00a0During the mission, select maneuvers will be conducted at low altitudes over the Houston area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pilots\u00a0will\u00a0fly remote sensing payloads in raster patterns,\u00a0or\u00a0parallel back-and-forth lines. The instruments flown could help researchers\u00a0map the movement of\u00a0the gases and particles that make up Earth\u2019s atmosphere,\u00a0changes\u00a0to the\u00a0lowest part of the atmosphere near the coastline, and\u00a0the\u00a0natural processes affecting\u00a0the land and water in that area.\u00a0The flights will primarily take place in the Houston area, with some extending over the Gulf of America.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n While many of the flights will\u00a0operate\u00a0at\u00a0higher\u00a0altitudes,\u00a0a\u00a0WP-3D Orion will conduct maneuvers as low as 1,000 feet\u00a0above ground level.\u00a0Owned and\u00a0operated\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),\u00a0this\u00a0aircraft\u00a0is used as a\u00a0hurricane\u00a0hunter and\u00a0has supported several airborne science missions for NASA.\u00a0It\u00a0is equipped with a multitude of scientific instrumentation, radars, and recording systems\u00a0for both in-flight\u00a0and remote sensing measurements of the atmosphere, the Earth, and its environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0NASA-operated\u00a0aircraft\u00a0participating\u00a0in the mission\u00a0also\u00a0are\u00a0equipped with\u00a0a variety of\u00a0remote sensing instruments, including two lidars, a synthetic-aperture radar, an imaging spectrometer, and two spectrometers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The operations will involve the agency\u2019s Gulfstream\u00a0V (N95NA), Gulfstream C-20A (N802NA), and Gulfstream\u00a0III (N520NA), as well as\u00a0NOAA\u2019s\u00a0WP-3D Orion (N43RF) and\u00a0a King\u00a0Air B200\u00a0aircraft\u00a0(N46L) owned by Dynamic Aviation and contracted by NASA. The flights can be tracked in real\u00a0time at\u00a0NASA Airborne Science Program Tracker<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0SARP\u00a0effort\u00a0is an eight-week summer internship program that provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience by engaging in field research and data analysis\u00a0and\u00a0with access to one or more NASA Airborne Science Program flying science laboratories.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more information about\u00a0the\u00a0NASA Airborne Science program, visit:\u00a0<\/p>\n https:\/\/airbornescience.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nExplore More<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n