[image-36] As the Atlantic Ocean's hurricane season hits its peak, media are invited to visit NASA's latest airborne hurricane research mission using remotely piloted aircraft on Thursday, Sept. 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT, at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission is flying two NASA instrumented Global Hawk aircraft to investigate how hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean basin form and change in intensity. The aircraft are capable of flying as high as to 55,000 feet and can stay airborne for 30 hours. This is the third and final year of the HS3 mission.

During the media event, reporters will meet HS3 scientists and pilots and tour the Global Hawks and the aircraft control center. Reporters also will learn about NASA's climate research program and the new technology the agency is using to better understand hurricanes.

Speakers during the media day include:

-- Bill Wrobel, center director, NASA Wallops Flight Facility

-- Jack Kaye, associate director for research, Earth Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington

-- Scott Braun, HS3 principal investigator, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

-- Chris Naftel, Global Hawk project manager, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California

-- Robbie Hood, director of NOAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, Silver Spring, Maryland

To register for this event, reporters must contact Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov. The registration deadline for non-U.S. citizens has passed. The deadline for U.S. citizens is noon, Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The presentation to the media will be streamed online live beginning at 10 a.m. at:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops

Media interested in asking questions during the presentation via telephone may contact Keith Koehler for the call-in telephone number and passcode.

For more information on the HS3 mission, including video and imagery, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hs3

-end-