NASA Pilots Fly U-2 ‘Spy Plane’ Civil Variant for Polar Data Collection

Two NASA research pilots separately flew a civil variant of the U-2 military reconnaissance aircraft last week to study diminishing sea-ice levels in the Arctic region, Alaska Dispatch News reported Thursday.

Dermot Cole writes that pilots Tim Williams and Daniel Steele took turns flying the ER-2 jet to 60,000 feet and providing assistance from the ground for NASA’s polar climate change research project.

The Lockheed Martin-built aircraft will aim to complete up to 48 hours of environmental flight missions through the end of July.

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