Studying Thunderstorms with NASA’s ER-2 Aircraft

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California collaborated with University of Bergen, Norway to create the ALOFT project, Airborne Lightning Observatory for Fly’s eye simulator and Terrestrial gamma ray flashes. The team included from scientists and investigators from the University of Bergen, Norway, and pilots, engineers, and technicians from NASA who investigated lightning glows and terrestrial gamma ray flashes. Flying just above the height of thunderclouds over the Floridian and Caribbean coastlines, NASA’s ER-2 aircraft collect more accurate data that can advance the study of high-energy radiation emissions from thunderstorms.