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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<strong>NASA</strong>’s<br />
ER-2<br />
<strong>NASA</strong> operates two ER-2 (806 and 809) aircraft as<br />
readily deployable high altitude sensor platforms<br />
to collect remote sensing and in situ data on earth<br />
resources, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics,<br />
and oceanic processes. The aircraft also are used<br />
for electronic sensor research, development and<br />
demonstrations, satellite calibration and satellite<br />
data validation. Operating at 70,000 feet (21.3<br />
km), the ER-2 acquires data above ninety-five<br />
percent of the earth’s atmosphere. The aircraft<br />
also yields an effective horizon of 300 miles (480<br />
km) or greater at altitudes of 70,000 feet.<br />
In November 2008, ER-2 806 was taken out of<br />
service temporarily to conduct a required 200 hour<br />
phase inspection.<br />
In February, the ER-2 team integrated the<br />
Tropospheric Wind Lidar Experiment, TWiLiTE,<br />
sensor and flew its first flight on February 19,<br />
<strong>2009</strong>. Unfortunately, the sensor encountered<br />
some in-flight failures and had to be returned to<br />
home base for trouble shooting and repair. The<br />
sensor flew again in September.<br />
In March, the ER-2 team conducted four <strong>Airborne</strong><br />
Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS)<br />
flights over the Santa Monica Mountains and<br />
two Autonomous Modular Systems (AMS)<br />
sensor flights utilizing both aircraft 806 and 809,<br />
showing team flexibility on accomplishing flight<br />
requirements.<br />
In April, the ER-2 team continued to fly the<br />
AVIRIS sensor on A/C 809 over required<br />
experiment sites. Team also uploaded the Large<br />
Area Collectors (LAC) and began flying sensor<br />
towards end of April and into May. A new Sandia<br />
National Laboratories High Altitude Telemetry<br />
Sensor (HATS) sensor was successfully integrated<br />
into A/C 809 and flown over Albuquerque, New<br />
Mexico.<br />
In May, ER-2 team completed flying the LAC and<br />
the HATS sensor and began to prepare for the<br />
upcoming deployment campaign at Dayton Ohio.<br />
In mid June, the ER-2 809 deployed to Wright-<br />
Patterson AFB (WPAFB), in Dayton, OH, in<br />
support of the WPAFB-AVIRIS campaign.<br />
<strong>Science</strong> flights were also conducted over sites in<br />
Canada (Alberta, Ontario and North of Hudson<br />
bay), New York, Vermont, New Hampshire,<br />
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, W.<br />
Virginia, Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota.<br />
The AVIRIS flights were conducted to gather<br />
data and characterize forest functional types<br />
by canopy-based measurement of three key<br />
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