2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Airborne Science Program
had a good year in FY08.
Our flight hours were up
by over 60% from last
year, yielding a far greater
amount of data to the science community.
Our program budget was leveled from its
planned rapid decline. The international and
interagency ARCTAS mission, NASA’s major
International Polar Year contribution, was
accomplished in a highly successful manner,
covering a major portion of the western
Arctic region from Alaska to Europe. We
brought the Dryden Airborne Operations
Facility on line. We obtained two Global
Hawk aircraft, and in FY09, we plan to
fly their first missions. We successfully
completed the G-III UAVSAR development
program with approval to transition to
science operations. The SIERRA aircraft
completed its test flight series, and is now
preparing for its first international science
mission in FY09. We are providing leadership
to the interagency ICCAGRA organization,
which is producing real results, as we
standardize our payload to aircraft interfaces
with other agencies, as well as establishing a
true real-time satcom capability throughout
our aircraft fleet, which allows us to redirect
our aircraft in flight, sharing data between the
ground, air, and satellites simultaneously.
We have started a process for the
standardization of payload interfaces between
centers, which is a real paradigm shift, and
which, when completed, will provide our
science customer with real portability of
sensors across centers and platforms. We
have also extended our leadership on the
global stage working with our international
counterparts to coordinate our activities on
climate change, allowing us to better support
the science community. Next year, we will be
chairing, with our European partners, the new
ISPRS Airborne Science Standards Working
Group. This is necessary as we operate in
a global environment and fly coordinated
missions with the international community.
We have also jumped into a major leadership
role for science uses of Unmanned Aerial
Systems. Our education outreach programs
are really making a difference, and we will add
a student airborne campaign on the DC-8
in FY09 and will continue our WETMAAP
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