2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program
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variety of atmospheric and remote sensing<br />
instruments, including duplicates of those<br />
sensors on orbiting satellites, can be installed<br />
to collect data during flights lasting up to<br />
30 hours. The Suborbital <strong>Science</strong> <strong>Program</strong><br />
uses both manned and unmanned aircraft to<br />
collect data within the Earth’s atmosphere,<br />
complementing measurements of the same<br />
phenomenon taken from space and those<br />
taken on the Earth’s surface.<br />
<strong>NASA</strong>’s Ikhana has a wingspan of 66 feet<br />
and is 36 feet long. More than 400 pounds<br />
of sensors can be carried internally and over<br />
2,000 pounds in external under-wing pods.<br />
Ikhana is powered by a Honeywell TPE 331-<br />
10T turbine engine and is capable of reaching<br />
altitudes above 40,000 feet.<br />
The Ikhana also was used for research on<br />
the use of fiber-optic wing shape sensors<br />
(FOWSS) located along the top of the Ikhana<br />
wing surface. The sensors provide about 2,000<br />
strain measurements in real time and show<br />
the shape of the aircraft’s wings in flight. Fiber<br />
optic sensors offer weight reduction that has<br />
potential for reducing costs and improving<br />
fuel efficiency.<br />
The potential for weight reduction, however,<br />
is but one small part of the picture. This<br />
technology also opens up new opportunities<br />
and applications that would not be possible<br />
with conventional technology. For example,<br />
the new sensors could enable adaptive wingshape<br />
control - the concept of changing a<br />
wing’s shape in flight to take advantage of<br />
aerodynamics and make the aircraft more<br />
efficient.<br />
Six hair-like fibers located on the top surface<br />
of the Ikhana’s wings provide about the strain<br />
measurements in real time. The fibers are<br />
so small that they have no significant effects<br />
on aerodynamic lift and weigh less than two<br />
pounds. The fiber optic sensors themselves<br />
are so small that they could eventually be<br />
embedded within composite wings in future<br />
aircraft.<br />
There are no funded Earth <strong>Science</strong> related<br />
support planned for FY2009.<br />
Figure 34<br />
Ikhana during pre-flight checkout at <strong>NASA</strong> Dryden<br />
Flight Research Center.<br />
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