Volume 8, Number 4     July/August 2000

Lightning Strike Location System Developed

A void in lightning detection will soon be filled, thanks to a product that uses technology developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center. The NASA-patented Accurate Location of Lightning Strikes technology was developed to determine the ground strike point of lightning in the immediate vicinity of the Space Shuttle launch pads.

Since electronic equipment is highly susceptible to lightning strike damage, the accurate knowledge of the striking point is important to determine which equipment or system needs to be re-tested following a strike. Accurate to within a few yards, this technology can locate a strike in the perimeter of the launch pad area.

The system was designed by Dr. Pedro Medelius, currently employed by Dynacs Inc., the NASA Kennedy Engineering Development Contractor. The prototype system consists of a network of one electric field antenna and three or more sonic sensors separated from each other by about 30 feet and located at different places within the perimeter of the observation area.

Consumer Lightning Products, Inc. (CLP) of Asheville, North Carolina is developing the project, called the Precision Lightning Strike Location System (PLSLS).

CLP believes this new technology will benefit many organizations, such as insurance and utility companies, airports, government agencies and golf courses, with more precise lightning strike information, including why lightning strikes a given location.

A lightning strike location system will benefit organizations by providing more precise lightning strikke information, including why lightning strikes at given locations. (Photo provided by Kennedy Space Center.)

CLP President and inventor Sam Gasque believes that one of the major social benefits of the new PLSLS technology is verification of insurance claims. “Each year, claims due to lightning strikes continue to climb. Where insurance companies once would simply pay a claim, today they tend to verify the loss first, before settlement. Individuals may now need to prove there was a lightning strike in their area before they can recoup damages,” Gasque explained.

“Insurance companies will call the Weather Service or similar service to find out if there was a thunderstorm in a claimant’s area on the specific day of loss. If not, the claimant may have trouble getting paid for the damages,” Gasque added.

As PLSLS is implemented in given areas, exact information regarding lightning strikes can be given to either the consumer or the insurance company. According to Gasque, once PLSLS is implemented further, sporting events will become safer, as well as air travel and traffic signals. Utilities will also become more reliable during storms. All of these improvements will have a positive impact economically.

“The bottom line of PLSLS is once you know exactly where lightning strikes, you can identify the attraction. After you remove or neutralize the attraction, the frequency of strikes is substantially minimized. Minimize the strikes and you create a safer social and industrial environment with minimal loss,” Gasque stated.

CLP wants to know exactly where lightning strikes so it can determine what is attracting the lightning. “CLP’s initial research was focused on airports and, specifically, airport runway lighting systems. Larger airports may have thousands of miles of cable underground. Airports that were formerly U.S. military air bases could have 10 times more wire and cable underground than needed. This old, abandoned cable could easily draw a lightning strike and provide a path for lightning to the other side of the facility, where it destroys all electronics in its path,” Gasque said.

The PLSLS could show maintenance crews the location where lightning has hit. Crews could then correct the situation so that the attraction to lightning is minimized in the future.

CLP also developed the Lightning Retardant Cable (LRC) with the help of Kennedy and the Southern Technology Applications Center. This award-winning technology helps protect electrical wires and cables from strikes.

Plans call for CLP to initially offer the PLSLS technology with its LRC as a package for airports. From there, it will expand to power utilities, sports facilities, defense, industry and government. The product design will be adapted for commercial applications and enhanced operation. CLP plans to test the first prototypes in late fall of 2000.