PLATFORMS 



NASA Aircraft 



Background 



In October 1964 NASA acquired a Convair 2^0-A (figure 1) through 

 the cooperation of Wright Air Development Directorate, Wright-Patterson 

 Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio (Toy et al., 1966) . In addition to test- 

 ing GEMINI subsystems, the aircraft is used for the NASA Earth Resources 

 Survey Program conducted within the Office of Space Science Applications. 

 This program is directed toward employing earth- orbiting spacecraft for 

 scientific applications (NAVOCEANO, 1966). Controlled experiments using 

 the Convair 2^0-A were begun in December 1964. 



Initial flights over geological test sites used only photographic 

 cameras and infrared scanners. The aircraft has since been modified to 

 carry additional sensors and recording equipment. A gas-turbine auxil- 

 iary power unit was installed to provide power for the sensors and pres- 

 surization for high altitudes. The aircraft cruises at 330 km/hour and 

 has a range of more than 800 km. 



NASA EARTH RESOURCES SURVEY AIRCRAFT 

 CONVAIR 240-A SHOWING INSTRUMENT LOCATIONS 



RC-8 CAMERA 



AN/AAS-5 ULTRAVIOLET 

 SCANNER CONTROL 



MICROWAVE RADIOMETER- 

 MR-62 AND MR-64 



Figure 1 NASA Aircraft 



