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NASA drones in national airspace to spot wildfires

By WTOP Staff

BROCK VERGAKIS
Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — NASA says it plans to fly small drones to spot fires in a wildlife refuge along the Virginia and North Carolina border.

NASA officials say their plan to fly drones above the Great Dismal Swamp would be the first time the agency has integrated drones into the National Airspace System for wildfire spotting on the East Coast.

NASA has previously used retrofitted Predator drones to map and gather data on wildfires in the West.

Researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton plan to use former Army target drones to fly over the Great Dismal Swamp at low altitudes following lightning storms next year. They say the drones can be flown at a lower price per hour than renting a manned aircraft to check for fires.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Emergency guide: What you should do to prepare for emergencies

By WTOP Staff
WASHINGTON — Do you know what you'd do if an emergency hits? What if you're at work, your spouse is stuck in traffic and your children are in school? There's no way to plan for every emergency, but you can make sure you're prepared for different scenarios, including making a plan for your family and building a kit of emergency supplies.
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