2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

In keeping with those thoughts, I would like to
cover some of the substantial achievements of
the Airborne Science Program in 2009. FY2009
saw the G-III with the Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle
Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) become
operational and demonstrate some of its potential
in supporting International Polar Year (IPY),
tectonic, terrestrial ecology and hydrology science.
The P-3 and DC-8 inaugurated the first Operation
Ice Bridge campaign season flying over 400 hours
(far exceeding expectations) and collecting data
on sea ice and glacier elevation, ice extent and bed
characteristics. Operation
Ice Bridge also included
some coordinated flights
with the G-III / UAVSAR’s
IPY mission, in addition to a
collaborative effort with the
National Science Foundation
and British National
Environmental Research
Council’s ICECAP mission
in Antarctica. To round
out Operation Ice Bridge,
a catalog aircraft flew in
southeast Alaska to measure
glaciers.
In 2009, the WB-57 saw the
superpod nacelle mated to
the wings and completion
of the gross weight increase
certification of the landing
gear, both critical capability
enhancements for future
missions. The Program also
experienced a number of firsts. As part of IPY, the
SIERRA Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) flew its
first science mission: Characterization of Arctic Sea
Ice Experiment (CASIE). The multi-sensor payload
successfully flew over 3000 km of sea ice out of
Svalbard, Norway. The Global Hawk UAS flew its
first NASA flights using a totally redesigned ground
operations center. Finally, the Student Airborne
Research Program (SARP) completed its first class
with 29 students from all across the US.
The Program is committed
to staying on track:
working collaboratively
with our partners for
mutually beneficial
outcomes by providing
quality, responsive, and
relevant airborne science
services to the community.
program was also assigned a Small Satellite,
Unmanned Aircraft System project to develop
enabling technologies for those emerging platforms.
Airborne Science also made progress in the
international and national arenas. Nationally the
program members finished their work on a Federal
Aviation Administration Aviation Rulemaking
Committee on Small UAS, executed work under
a UAS Memorandum of Understanding with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
and remained active in UAS in the National Air
Space and Interagency Coordinating Committee
on Airborne Geoscience
Research and Applications
(ICCAGRA) efforts.
Internationally, the Program
was active in developing
collaborative relationships
with the European Fleet
for Airborne Research
(EUFAR, the European
Union counterpart to
ICCAGRA) and the
Chinese Center for
Earth Observation and
Digital Earth, as well as
membership on a working
group to address UASenabled
Arctic science
missions supporting the
Arctic Council.
The year also saw Andrew
Roberts, our Program
Director for the past 2
years, retire from NASA.
Andy will be missed. During his tenure the Program
grew healthier as he focused on bringing funding
and mission stability to the centers, recognizing the
program’s professional performers, being increasingly
responsive to the community and showing
exceptional leadership. On behalf of the entire
Airborne Science Team, I invite you to read through
our 2009 Annual Report. We, as a program, are very
proud of what we do and have accomplished and we
would like to share that with you.
Programmatically, 2009 was an eventful year.
Airborne Science was provided $28,046,000 of
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding
to execute the first year of Operation Ice Bridge,
in addition to investments to modify and sustain
its fleet and science support infrastructure. The
Randal Albertson
Airborne Science Program Director
(Acting)
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