Schwarzenegger tours NASA/Ames to tout agency’s fire-fighting technology

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a brief stop today at Moffett Field and got a firsthand look at the latest technology NASA is using to help the state’s fire crews battle the hundreds of blazes raging throughout California. The governor toured NASA/Ames Research Center in Mountain View, where researchers are taking data from a remotely controlled airplane and delivering real-time infrared images of hot spots and flare-ups to fire commanders on the ground. The pilotless drone, named Ikhana, has made two flights across the state in the past two weeks and is scheduled to fly over more active fires Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger called the drone “one of the most exciting new weapons in our firefighting arsenal.

“California’s unprecedented number of fires this early in the season make it all the more important that we use every tool at our disposal to protect property and save lives,” Schwarzenegger said.

The $6 million aircraft has an onboard sensor that can look through the smoke and detect temperatures ranging from one-half degree to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Ikhana sends images through a communications satellite to NASA/Ames, where the imagery is superimposed over Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth maps. The information is relayed to fire commanders on the ground, sometimes in as little as 10 minutes, helping them differentiate between the fire front and hot spots that may be burning outside their perimeters.

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