Tempus Aircraft to Test NASA Imaging Spectrometer

Aviation solutions developer Tempus Applied Solutions Holdings Inc. has begun flight operations for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) by integrating the Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer, a specialized hyperspectral sensor, into Tempus’ Gulfstream IV aircraft.

Operations began off the coast of Maine before moving to Hawaii for a total mission duration of three weeks. The Tempus Gulfstream IV will operate a total of 223 science flight hours globally while supporting the data collection efforts of NASA/JPL over the next 12 months. After returning from Hawaii in July, the next survey mission is scheduled for September and October in Australia to survey the Great Barrier Reef.

NASA intends to develop a business jet into a multimission, multiple-sensor platform for future earth science remote sensing missions. Tempus was awarded the aircraft modification contract in April and provided more than 5,000 hours of engineering support for the modification project. The 2016 flight operations contract is valued at $1.4 million.

Tempus provides design, engineering, systems integration and flight operations solutions for U.S. aviation missions, foreign governments and select corporations.