astronomy

NASA Centurion

NASA Centurion is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA Centurion rather than just read about it. In short: The NASA Centurion was the third aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program.

Key takeaways

NASA Centurion belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA Centurion to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA Centurion from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The NASA Centurion was the third aircraft developed as part of an evolutionary series of solar- and fuel-cell-system-powered unmanned aerial vehicles. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicles under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) program. They were built to develop the technologies that would allow long-term, high-altitude aircraft to serve as atmospheric satellites, to perform atmospheric research tasks as well as serve as communications platforms. It was developed from the NASA Pathfinder Plus aircraft and was developed into the NASA Helios.

Centurion

Centurion, originally built for the 100,000 feet (30,000 m) altitude on solar power milestone specified by the ERAST project, was the third generation aircraft in the NASA Pathfinder series of electrical-powered flying wing unmanned aircraft. The ERAST program managers had determined that an aircraft based on the Pathfinder/Pathfinder Plus concept would be the lowest risk approach of achieving the altitude goal. Initially, a quarter-scale model of the Centurion was test flown at El Mirage Dry Lake on March 4, 1997. The full-size Centurion's maiden flight took place at Rogers Dry Lake on November 10, 1998, and lasted a total of 1 hr and 24 minutes. At the time, it weighed in at 1,385 pounds (628.2 kg) (including a 150 pounds (68.0 kg) steel anvil hanging on its centerline to simulate a payload) for its first flight. The flight was nearly flawless and was followed by a second similar performance on November 19, this time before a crowd of VIPs and Media. It lasted 1 hr and 29 minutes. The third and final flight of the low altitude test series took place on December 3. On this flight the vehicle was loaded down to its maximum gross weight of 1,806 pounds (819.2 kg) to test its weight carrying capability. Total flight time on this flight was 30 minutes, as it was shortened because high winds were anticipated by mid-morning. All of these flights took place on battery power and verified the design's handling qualities, performance, and structural integrity. Following these three flights, NASA decided to expand the aircraft into the Helios Prototype, with work starting in January, 1999.

Aircraft description The design of Centurion resulted in an aircraft that looked very much like the Pathfinder, but with a much longer wingspan of 206 feet (63 m). Although the Centurion shape resembled the Pathfinder, the structure was designed to be stronger and capable of carrying numerous payloads (up to 600 pounds (272.2 kg)) more efficiently. Its wing incorporated a redesigned high-altitude airfoil and the span was increased to 206 feet (63 m). The number of motors was increased to 14 and the number of underwing pods to carry batteries, flight control system components, ballast, and landing gear rose to four.

Specifications

See also The prehistory of endurance UAVs Electric aircraft Regenerative fuel cell NASA Pathfinder (First flew in June 1983) NASA/AeroVironment Helios Prototype (First flight 8 September 1999) QinetiQ/Airbus Zephyr (First flight in 2008) Facebook Aquila (First flight 28 June 2016) SoftBank/AeroVironment HAPSMobile (First flight 11 September 2019) BAE Systems PHASA-35 (First flight 17 February 2020)

References This article contains material that originally came from the web article "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain. This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

"Photovoltaic Finesse: Better Solar Cells—with Wires Where the Sun Don't Shine", an article by Daniel Cho on page thirty-three of the September, 2003 issue of Scientific American

External links

NASA's Helios Project Archived 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine Helios for kids Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine Helios model by DesignsbyALX Archived 2011-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. "3G Tested at 65,000 feet (20,000 m) in the stratosphere" 3G news release July 23, 2002 Science Daily article on Pathfinder Plus altitude record Telecom relay achievements at Airport International Space.com article History of solar powered UAVs at The Future of Things Pathfinder Plus at NASM Helios crash article NASA-AeroVironment contract for followon projects "Helios record attempt article". NASA. July 2001. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009 – via FindArticles. NASA image collections: NASA Pathfinder Archived 2013-04-15 at the Wayback Machine NASA Pathfinder Plus NASA Centurion NASA Helios Prototype

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA Centurion

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA Centurion claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA Centurion before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA Centurion ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA Centurion

In research: NASA Centurion appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA Centurion in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA Centurion is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990s United States experimental aircraft, AeroVironment aircraft, Aircraft first flown in 1998, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA Centurion outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NASA Centurion in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA Centurion means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA Centurion out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA Centurion in simple terms?

Why does NASA Centurion matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA Centurion?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA Centurion.