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2009 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY<br />

<strong>NASA</strong>’s <strong>Airborne</strong> <strong>Science</strong> <strong>Program</strong> had another<br />

busy year in FY09. The program flew missions and<br />

instrument tests on five core aircraft, eight catalog<br />

aircraft, and two new technology unmanned aircraft<br />

systems. The program completed a total of seventy<br />

flight requests for almost 1900 flight hours. More<br />

than a dozen different customer communities were<br />

served in all six focus areas of <strong>NASA</strong> Earth <strong>Science</strong><br />

and related aerospace fields.<br />

In <strong>2009</strong> we focused significant effort on the<br />

Cryosphere and completing IPY related missions.<br />

Greenland and Iceland ice monitoring missions were<br />

successful far-field missions for the G-III carrying<br />

the L-band UAVSAR and a new Ka-band SAR.<br />

The Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment<br />

(CASIE) mission proved our new SIERRA UAS,<br />

flying out of Svalbard, Norway. Operation Ice<br />

Bridge saw the P-3 in Greenland in the Spring while<br />

the DC-8 was outfitted for a major Fall mission<br />

over Antarctica, flying from Punta Arenas, Chile.<br />

The G-III with UAVSAR completed its first fully<br />

operational year with over 500 hours, including<br />

flights in Alaska.<br />

In addition to launching the mid-size SIERRA<br />

UAS, our Global Hawk UAS was readied for its first<br />

science mission – GloPac – to take place in early<br />

2010. Other missions, Pre-GRIP and GRIP, are in<br />

the pipeline for Global Hawk as well.<br />

The DC-8 was the laboratory home during summer<br />

<strong>2009</strong> for the inaugural session of the Student<br />

<strong>Airborne</strong> Research <strong>Program</strong> (SARP), headed by<br />

the National Suborbital Education and Research<br />

Center (NRERC). With this success, we are planning<br />

another program for 2010.<br />

<strong>Program</strong>matically, the <strong>Airborne</strong> <strong>Science</strong> <strong>Program</strong><br />

was impacted significantly in <strong>2009</strong> by the American<br />

Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which<br />

has provided funds for needed upgrades and new<br />

capabilities. These efforts will provide payload<br />

portability and similar capability for near-real<br />

time data downlink on all platforms. Many of the<br />

outcomes from this program are expected during<br />

2010.<br />

Finally, the <strong>Airborne</strong> <strong>Science</strong> <strong>Program</strong> is looking<br />

forward to continued Operation Ice Bridge efforts,<br />

to participating in Earth Venture-1 missions, and to<br />

supporting upcoming satellite missions, including<br />

Decadal Survey missions.<br />

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