By Matt Windsor In August, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) upgraded Tropical Storm Gaston to Hurricane Gaston. This in itself was not unusual—NOAA upgrades and downgrades storms often—except that this time it did so as a result of data gathered by a NASA-owned Global Hawk, a high-altitude drone. …
By Matt Windsor This past weekend, 145 competitors from around the world gathered on New York City’s Governors Island for the second annual U.S. National Drone Racing Championships. The winner was Zach Thayer from Laguna Niguel, California, of Team Big Whoop. But the biggest news was the presence of ESPN, …
By Arthur Holland Michel Today, the Federal Aviation Administration released its much anticipated Part 107 rules, which cover the use of drones for non-recreational purposes in the U.S. airspace system. Up until now, non-recreational drone users such as commercial entities and educational institutions had to apply for a Section …
As regulators open the skies to commercial drone use, insurance companies are starting to take notice. The demand for insurance policies that cover drone operations is expanding significantly. Commercial entities that fly drones want their new aerial assets to be protected, and they also want to be sure that they …
By Arthur Holland Michel The Drone Revolutions was an advanced undergraduate seminar organized by the Center for the Study of the Drone, taught in the Human Rights Program at Bard College during the Spring 2016 semester. The class was led by Thomas Keenan, Dan Gettinger, and Arthur Holland Michel. The …
By Zachary Israel In order to be able to do its job, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to be periodically authorized (and thus funded) by Congress. Authorization is granted through lengthy bills that often also include provisions that direct certain reforms and other policies. For example, the last significant FAA …
2/8/16 – 2/14/16 If you would like to receive the Weekly Roundup in your inbox, please subscribe at the bottom of the page. At the Center for the Study of the Drone Last week, the Pentagon released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2017. The budget includes nearly $4 billion …
12/7/15 -12/13/2015 If you would like to receive the Weekly Roundup in your inbox, please subscribe at the bottom of the page. At the Center for the Study of the Drone This week we published “Drone Sightings and Close Encounters: An Analysis,” which examines over 900 incidents involving drones and manned …
For our October 2016 update on the presidential candidates, click here. By Arthur Holland Michel Isobel Coen contributed to research for this story. In the crowded presidential primary field, the use of drones for targeted killing has received very little attention compared to issues such as …
By Arthur Holland Michel Last month, Steve Whitby, an executive at the french aerospace giant Airbus Defence and Space, briefed reporters with some exciting news. Airbus, he said, had entered into a deal with the British Ministry of Defense, which would buy three of the company’s Zephyr solar-powered, high-altitude, long-endurance …
By Arthur Holland Michel On January 26, 2015, California Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson introduced a short, simple bill to the State Senate. S.B. 142, which was vetoed earlier this month by California Governor Jerry Brown after passing comfortably in the state legislature, sought to restrict the recreational and commercial use of …
This feature is based on an essay presented by the author at “Reconfiguring Global Space: The Geography, Politics, and Ethics of Drone Warfare,” which took place Indiana University – Bloomington in July of this year By Arthur Holland Michel The drone, most often represented in some variation of the …
