Drone Peers Into Tsunami-Devastated Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (Dialup Warning - Pic Heavy)

[Turborama]

By Matt Smith, CNN | April 10, 2011 -- Updated 18:37 GMT


A remote-controlled helicopter with a camera attached was sent over the damaged nuclear
power plant Sunday to get pictures.

Tokyo (CNN) -- Engineers used a flying drone to peer into the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Sunday as the crisis spurred more than 2,000 people to march against nuclear energy in Tokyo.

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Monday marks a full month in the battle to prevent a worse disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, which was battered by the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck northern Japan on March 11. Japan's largest utility, Tokyo Electric Power Company, has been struggling to cool down three damaged reactors and prevent a wider release of radioactivity than has already occurred.

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A camera was mounted on a remote-controlled helicopter to get pictures of the damaged reactors from above Sunday in hopes of getting a better look at the damaged housings of the No. 1, 3 and 4 reactors and hopefully the pools of spent fuel inside, company spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. The drone hovered over the plant for 28 minutes at an altitude of about 150 meters (492 feet), he said.

The T-Hawk drone, built by the U.S. company Honeywell, can transmit ordinary pictures as well as infrared images, Matsumoto told reporters. Images captured by the drone are expected to be released Monday, he said.

Full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/10/japan.nuclear.reactors/

These two combo photos released Saturday, April 9, 2011 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. via Kyodo News show before (top) and after (bottom) the March 11, 2011 tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake hitting the compound of the Fukushima Dai-ni nuclear power plant in Futaba town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.


This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 4, left, of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The American drone aircraft T-Hawk made by Honeywell was used by TEPCO to inspect hard-to-access areas of the plant. The drone can be operated from six miles (10 kilometers) away and transmit video and still images.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 3 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the reactor building of Unit 2, center, of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows reactor buildings of Unit 2, left, and Unit 1, right, of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 1 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 3 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 3 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 4 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.



This Sunday, April 10 image taken by T-Hawk drone aircraft and released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the damaged reactor building of Unit 4 of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.


Floating silt fence to block the spread of contaminated water from Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) Co.'s crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is pictured at the complex of the nuclear plant in Fukushima, northern Japan April 10, 2011 in this handout released by TEPCO April 11, 2011, one month after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami battered Japan's northeast coast. (Tokyo Electric Power)



In this Sunday, April 10, 2011 photo released on Monday, April 11, 2011 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), workers in protective suits watch monitors as they operate remote-controlled rubble removing equipment to clear debris in the compound of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. The nuclear complex is still leaking radiation after its cooling systems were knocked out by the March 11 tsunami.



More photos available here: http://cryptome.org/eyeball/daiichi-npp6/daiichi-photos6.htm