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    Redefining the Future of Flight: NASA’s Innovative Probe Takes to the Skies

    By NASA1 Comment2 Mins Read
    NASA Atmospheric Probe Released
    A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft releases the atmospheric probe model above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on October 22, 2024. The probe was designed and built at the center. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

    NASA Armstrong’s new probe flew successfully using a lifting body design, with plans for more ambitious future tests.

    On October 22, 2024, researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, successfully tested the latest version of their atmospheric probe. Inspired by NASA’s 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which generate lift through their shape rather than wings, the probe’s design could provide a more efficient and cost-effective way to gather data from other planets. The test confirmed that the probe’s unique shape functions as intended.

    Derek Abramson and Justin Link
    Derek Abramson, left, chief engineer for the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft system pilot, carry the atmospheric probe model and a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft to position it for flight on October 24, 2024. John Bodylski, probe principal investigator, right, and videographer Jacob Shaw watch the preparations. Once at altitude, the quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center. Credit: NASA/Steve Freeman

    The probe was released from a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft flying above Rogers Dry Lake, near NASA Armstrong. “I’m ecstatic,” said John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will be looking at releasing it from a higher altitude to keep it flying longer and demonstrate more maneuvers.”

    For more on this topic, see NASA’s Atmospheric Probe Soars in Game-Changing Test Flight.

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