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cloud seeding
Pilot Union Challenges FAA’s Approval of Drone Cloud-Seeding Technology
Drones Take โคAim โคat Cloud Seeding: A New โคApproach Faces Scrutiny
A burgeoningโ company, Rainmaker, is seeking to revolutionize cloud โคseeding – a decades-old practice of attempting toโ induce โprecipitation – by โutilizing unmanned aerial systems (drones) instead of customary crewed โคaircraft. However, their request for an exemption to operate theseโฃ drones has sparked opposition from the โฃAir Line โPilots Association (ALPA), raising questions aboutโ safety and coordination.
cloudโค seeding itself โisn’tโฃ new. Since theโ 1950s, the โtechnique โhas been employed, particularly in theโค westernโฃ United States, by ski resorts seeking โคto bolster snowpack and irrigation districts aiming to replenish reservoirs. the process involves dispersing smallโ particles, typically silver iodide, into clouds to encourage ice crystal formation and, ultimately, precipitation. Silver iodide is favored because its structure โclosely resembles โthat โขof natural โขiceโ crystals, triggering rapid freezing in super-cooled water droplets. โThisโ accelerated growth allows ice crystals toโข form โand fall โคas precipitation more effectively than liquid โฃwater droplets.
Rainmaker’s innovation liesโ inโค automating this process with โdrones. The company emphasizesโ that their current droneโ flights utilizing flares are strictly for research within a controlledโค habitat, separateโข from their ongoing operational cloudโข seeding. They are actively developing a proprietary aerosol dispersion system designed โขto replace flares and exclusivelyโค emit โsilver iodide.
“Our use of โflares in โฃunmanned systems is solelyโ for โresearch purposes in a controlled flying environment and is not a โคpart of our larger ongoing operations,” โexplained Sam Kim, Rainmaker’s aviation regulatory โmanager.
The company โdefends the โenvironmental safety of their operations, pointing to over โค70 years of study by the EPA and state departments of natural resources which have found โno adverse โeffects from cloud seeding. Augustus Doricko, Rainmaker’s founder and CEO, highlighted the minimal material โฃdispersed during a typical operation – 50-100 grams of silver iodide, โขand even โคless โduring flare flights – compared to theโข kilograms of pollutants released by commercial aircraft.
Though, โขALPAโฃ has voiced concerns regarding coordination with aviation authorities and airspace management. Rainmaker counters that their flights are meticulously planned, โinvolving signal broadcasting, direct coordination with Air Traffic Control, certifiedโ pilots overseeing operations remotely, โand a comprehensive collision avoidance system utilizingโ both electronic โขandโฃ physical observers. Flights are planned over rural areas and private land, where Rainmaker โฃhas established relationships with landowners.
Doricko argues that ALPA’s objections stem from a misunderstanding of Rainmaker’s comprehensive safety protocols,detailed in non-public โขdocumentation currently under review by the Federal Aviation Governance (FAA).โ He believes the drone-based approach could ultimately be safer โคthan traditional methods, citing โtightly bounded flight profiles, remote oversight, andโฃ additional safety checks.
The FAA’s decision on Rainmaker’sโค exemption request will be pivotal.โค It will not onlyโค determine the โfateโ of this specific project but also likely establish a precedent for future innovative approaches to cloud seeding โand the integration of unmanned systems into atmospheric research. โ
(Updatedโ 9/13/2025 to include comments from Augustusโข Doricko and Sam Kim of rainmaker.)