https://www.key.aero/article/nasa-retir ... -3b-viking
Le S-3B avait quitté l'us navy en 2009 mais la nasa avait acquit un exemple en 2004 qui volé jusqu'à maintenantThe administration announced the retirement plans on July 8, before the former US Navy-operated anti-submarine warfare (ASW) platform turned flight research aircraft was flown to its new home at the San Diego Air and Space Museum in California on July 13. The US Navy retired its fleet of S-3Bs from active-duty in 2009, but NASA’s Viking – registration N601NA (c/n 394A-1187), ex-US Navy BuNo 160607 – was acquired in 2004 and continued to fly almost daily sorties as a flight research aircraft.
Une de ses missions pour la nasa
The S-3B also flew research flights to monitor algal bloom growth in Lake Erie – the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes in North America – and develop hyperspectral imaging equipment to provide more accurate data for university students studying the problem. The hyperspectral imagers, mounted to the aircraft’s underbelly, analyse a wide spectrum of light to identify the types of harmful algal blooms in the water.
Roger Tokars, an elliptical and optics engineer with NASA Glenn, said: “The S-3B gave us the flexibility to fly at different altitudes to image large swaths of Lake Erie and other bodies of water. The other advantage was the aircraft’s inertial navigation system that helped us calibrate our equipment for better geo-referencing data.”
