NASA Low-Flying Research Planes Circle Mid-Atlantic, Virginia Urban Areas

NASA is conducting low-altitude research flights over several Mid-Atlantic cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Richmond, Hopewell, and Hampton, from June 22 through July 2. The flights, part of NASA's Student Airborne Research Program (SARP), involve two specialized aircraft—the P-3 Orion and King Air B200—flying as low as 1,000 feet to collect atmospheric data on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. These flights involve complex maneuvers such as vertical spirals, circling power plants, landfills, urban areas, and low-altitude flybys near airport runways. The program provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience operating scientific instruments aboard the aircraft, offering valuable real-world training in atmospheric research. NASA officials emphasized the need for tight coordination and crew resource management to safely operate in some of the most complex and restricted airspace in the country. Similar research flights will also occur on the West Coast following this Mid-Atlantic campaign.