Stennis drones a go-to resource

At NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St Louis, Miss., piloting unmanned drones has become a go-to resource for potentially dangerous jobs, reducing risks and helping save time and costs. NASA's trained drone pilots are imagining new advantageous ways to put the UAVs to work. It's simply a tool for the toolbox with purpose and limitations, according to Jason Peterson, NASA's range/aviation operations manager at Stennis. NASA is using drone technology for a variety of reasons, such as aerial imagery, inspections, and mapping. They've recorded live imagery from the RS-25's latest test on Feb. 24. The information gleaned from the video will be instrumental in future tests. Drones are also used for construction progress and record for historical purposes. Innovative Imaging and Research also flies drones over the skies of Stennis. As NASA integrates drone mapping operations into existing software, future scanning is expected to allow the creation of 2D or 3D real-time maps and models. Each could be able to reach accuracies down to two centimeters. This capability can reduce time and cost compared to traditional surveying. (Source: NASA 03/14/22)  NASA’s Stennis Space Center Employs Drones as New Go-To Resource | NASA