2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
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data were obtained and, with support from the ER-2<br />
pilots and ground crew, a number of challenging<br />
problems were identified and addressed culminating<br />
in successful operation of the instrument. These<br />
flights validated the nadir viewing wind profiling<br />
measurement concept and provided system level<br />
validation of the key technologies. TWiLiTE is the<br />
first fully autonomous airborne Doppler wind lidar<br />
and represents an important step on the path to<br />
space.<br />
The TWiLiTE team is funded separately by <strong>NASA</strong><br />
HQ under the <strong>Airborne</strong> Instrument Technology<br />
Transition (AITT) program (<strong>Program</strong> Scientist:<br />
Dr. Ramesh Kakar) to reconfigure the TWiLiTE<br />
instrument to fly on the <strong>NASA</strong> DC-8. One<br />
objective of the AITT program will be to co-fly<br />
TWiLiTE with the Doppler Aerosol Wind (DAWN)<br />
lidar system currently in development by <strong>NASA</strong><br />
Langley under the IIP program. The DAWN lidar<br />
uses a different technology to measure winds using<br />
the backscattered laser light from atmospheric<br />
aerosols. The combination of a molecular<br />
Doppler lidar (TWiLiTE) and an aerosol Doppler<br />
lidar (DAWN) represents the ‘hybrid’ approach<br />
recommended by the National Research Council in<br />
the recent Earth <strong>Science</strong> Decadal Survey as the best<br />
solution to provide space based tropospheric wind<br />
measurements. Flights of TWiLiTE and DAWN<br />
will provide the first opportunity to examine the<br />
‘hybrid’ Doppler lidar approach experimentally.<br />
For additional information contact Bruce Gentry<br />
(Bruce.M.Gentry@nasa.gov).<br />
Figure 38:<br />
TWiLiTE roll-out with Space Shuttle in background<br />
at Dryden Flight Research Center.<br />
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