Saildrone Explorer SD 1045
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Made publicThe first drone image of the sea surface taken from within a hurricane. They modified and reinforced a Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 wind wave board drone and sent it to Hurricane Sam to collect various sea images and weather data. During this process, SD 1045 had to fight with huge waves as high as 15 meters and strong winds of 200 kilometers per hour, and photographed the surface wind and waves equivalent to a strong typhoon.
SD 1045 is one of a series of five waveboard drones. NOAA hopes to send these drones to hurricanes in the early stages of the formation of more hurricanes in the future to learn about the early enhancement mechanism of hurricanes and the rapid speed of certain hurricanes. The reason for the enhancement is to enhance the accuracy of forecasting future hurricanes.