20 Aug 2021

NASA’s DC-8 aircraft deploys to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Aug. 17 after more than six months of preparation and instrument upload.

As part of the Convective Processes Experiment – Aerosols and Winds campaign, CPEX-AW, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center prepared the airborne science laboratory for the 45-day deployment to St. Croix, US Virgin Islands with a series of test flights earlier this month.

The campaign, which is a joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency, aims to gather critical data about tropical convection processes. Instruments on NASA’s DC-8 will measure winds, aerosols, precipitation, and other conditions that influence convection from the west to east coast of the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator.

NASA’s DC-8, based at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California, is flown to collect data for experiments in support of projects serving the world's scientific community.

[Image]

NASA's DC-8 taking off to St. Croix in support of the Convective Processes Experiment - Aerosols and Winds campaign (CPEX-AW) on Aug 17, 2021.