• Flight demonstrate a primary altitude range of 40,000 to 65,000 feet.
• Flight demonstrate a mission endurance of 24 to 48 hours with a minimum 660 lb. (300 kg) payload at the primary altitude range.
• Demonstrate ease of ground handling so that the vehicle is capable of operating from general aviation airports and can integrate with conventional aircraft operations.
• Demonstrate a flight environment envelope that is consistent with the weather and operating maneuverability necessary to support a broad range of science missions.
• Demonstrate UAV compliance with current applicable FAA requirements or guidelines on UAV operations in civil airspace including, but not limited to, see & avoid compliance criteria and airworthiness/maintenance standards criteria.
• Demonstrate Over the Horizon/See & Avoid Operations (in unrestricted FAA airspace, beyond line-of-sight) including, but not limited to, communication with FAA Centers (SATCOM relay of switchable UHF); communication of See & Avoid information; demonstrate logistics capability of the integrated system (UAV, GSE, GCS, etc.) to be deployable and/or transportable to remote locations; and perform a successful multiflight demonstration of a mission representative of those typically used for gathering science data.

Earth Science Missions

The Altair is designed to perform a variety of Earth science missions specified by NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. To demonstrate its ability to meet those standards, GA-ASI is required to conduct a multi-flight demonstration of the Altair representative of a scientific data-gathering mission, including all the necessary integrated logistical support that would be needed when operating from a remote location. The demonstration mission will include three long-duration, high-altitude flights with a payload of imaging and atmospheric sampling instruments.