> Launch postponed due to lightning from an approaching anvil cloud
(https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/587715056432889856)
Anyone know how they detect lightnings? Is it just cameras, or do they have planes flying around?
Anyone know how they detect lightnings? Is it just cameras, or do they have planes flying around?
That site works by a using a network of cheap EMP detectors. It uses the timing differences from each sensor to trilaterate the position of the lightning strike.
This specific delay though was caused by convective clouds being too close to the launch. This was probably determined with either ground based radar, or visible/IR images from satellites.
There is a considerable body of research on detecting the presence and range of lightning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_detection