KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Scheduled flight testing of the Argus One lighter-than-air unmanned aerial vehicle has been delayed following a hangar mishap in Arizona.
World Surveillance Group Inc. said minor damage to the envelope of the UAV was caused by unexpected strong wind gusts that hit the Argus One UAV broadside while the airship was being moved into its hangar.
The company is working with its technical partner, Eastcor Engineering, to repair and enhance the airship's envelope and expects to complete repairs by Sept. 9.
The Argus one had previously been approved for tethered flights.
WSG said it is discussing new flight test dates with the flight operators at the Yuma proving ground facility and expects to return to Yuma in September or October. Meanwhile, the company plans to continue flight testing the Argus One in Easton, Md., in preparation for the upcoming Yuma flight exercise.
"While we are very disappointed at the unfortunate incident that resulted in our inability to execute the flight tests we had planned for Yuma, we remain optimistic about the unique capabilities of our Argus One airship design based on the results from our numerous Easton flight tests," said WSG President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn D. Estrella. "We are actively in discussions with the directors at Yuma to reschedule new testing dates to get back to Yuma as soon as possible and will continue our testing in Easton in the interim."
