Successful test flight of ‘Dawn One’ at Manassas Regional Airport

Manassas Regional Airport recently hosted an unmanned research aircraft's first successful test flight.

Dawn One, an unmanned solar-electric hybrid research aircraft with a 90-foot wingspan, was designed to be used for atmospheric studies by Electra Aero. According to a press release on Electra's website about the event, Dawn One was created to be part of Harvard University's Stratospheric Airborne Climate Observatory System.

The project is supported by contracts from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Weld Foundation for Scientific and Environmental Development.

The project is designed to observe and collect data, allowing for deeper research into the physical, chemical, and biological controls that govern critical climate systems. 

"The high-spatial resolution observations from SACOS will provide, for the first time, quantitative forecasts of risk associated with rapidly expanding wildfires, the increasing rate of sea level rise, the intensification of severe storms, and global shifts in arid regions that trigger water shortages," the project's leader Professor James G. Anderson Professor Anderson said. "Moreover, these quantitative forecasts of risk will, in turn, establish the essential intellectual links directly coupling irreversible changes in the climate structure to economics, public policy, and associated societal instability."

According to airport manager Juan Rivera, Electra approached the regional airport for the Dawn One test flight in June 2022.

"The airport supports new innovative aviation companies. These types of test flights may lead to new Advance Air Mobility (AAM) flights for our airport that could bring educational and career opportunities to this region," said Rivera.

Electra Aero is one of many new aerospace companies to open its doors in Manassas last year. The airport is also home to Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences and the Reston-based Leidos. According to Rivera, both companies have been at the airport for over five years.

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