Pictured on the front cover are the support teams for ASP Core Aircraft. Names of personnel are listed on the following pages: P-3 (p. 33), Global Hawk (p. 37), DC-8 (p. 30), ER-2 (p. 31), DFRC G-III (p. 35). AIRBORNE SCIENCE PROGRAM ANNUAL2011 REPORT National Aeronautics and Space Administration Table of Contents 1. Leadership Comments . 1 HS3 ...............................20 2. In Memoriam . 3 ATTREX . 21 3. Program Overview ...........................4 AirMOSS ..........................22 Structure of the Program ..................4 Support to Applied Science . 23 FY2011 Major Improvements ..............5 Upcoming Missions .....................24 Flight Request System ....................5 UAS Enabled Earth Science ..........24 4. Science: Mission Accomplished . 6 SEAC4RS ..........................25 Science Flight statistics. 6 5. Aircraft ....................................26 Major Mission highlights. 8 Capabilities. 27 MACPEX ...........................8 Aircraft Activities and Modifications Operation IceBridge . 10 in 2011 . 30 ASCENDS .........................12 New Platforms ..........................49 Supporting NASA Science – 6. Aircraft Cross-Cutting Support and the Airborne Science role . 12 IT Infrastructure ............................52 Support to ESD Satellite Missions, Onboard Data Network including Decadal Survey Missions. 14 Infrastructure . 52 Support to Instrument Development. 15 Satellite Communications Systems . 53 Support to R&A process studies. 16 Irridium SATCOM ......................54 Earth Venture-1 (EV-1) activities and accomplishments. 18 XM Radio ..............................54 DISCOVER-AQ. 18 Facility Instruments .....................55 CARVE . 20 New Sensor: PRISM .....................57 iii Onboard Data Displays ..................57 Table of Figures 7. Strategic Planning ..........................60 Satellite support requirements. 61 5-yr plan ...............................62 Figure 1: Airborne Science Program Organization ................4 8. Education, Outreach and Partnerships ........63 Figure 2: ASP science flight hours over SARP ..................................63 the past 14 years.. 6 Outreach: International Symposium on Figure 3: Locations of airborne campaigns during Remote Sensing FY11. 8 of the Environment (ISRSE). 64 Figure 4: MACPEX team .......................9 Partnerships . 65 Figure 5: Flight lines for Fall 2010 Antarctic OIB mission ................10 Appendix A: Historical Perspective: Figure 6: Flight tracks of Spring 2011 Earl Peterson ..............................67 OIB Arctic mission ...................11 Appendix B: Appendix: 5-yr plan ................71 Figure 7: ASCENDS II Science flight tracks .........................12 Appendix C: SARP Students and Figure 8: MASTER imagery acquired on the ER2 their Colleges . 75 8 June 2011 over Ivanpah playa.. 14 Appendix D: Aircraft Flight Profiles .............77 Figure 9: Data gathered during MC3E Appendix E: Acronyms. 85 on the ER-2.. ........................15 Figure 10: G-LiHT on the Cessna 206. 15 Figure 11: Interferograms of Kilauea volcano generated from the UAVSAR. .......................17 Figure 12: Pollutant measurements made during Discover AQ . 19 iv Figure 13: CARVE spring 2011 flight Figure 30: Global Hawk with sondes. 38 tracks ..............................20 Figure 31: Ikhana UAS . 39 Figure 14: ESPO Team in the GHOC Figure 32: Ikhana Team ........................39 during HS3. ........................21 Figure 33: SIERRA Team. ......................40 Figure 15: Global Hawk payload scientists’ instrument and Figure 34: SIERRA UAS . 40 data laboratory. .....................22 Figure 35: Cessna 206H. 41 Figure 16: Histogram: UAS mission Figure 36: LaRC Support Team ..................42 types proposed ......................24 Figure 37: UC-12B . 42 Figure 17: ASP Capabilities: Figure 38: LaRC B-200 .........................43 Altitude v. duration ..................27 Figure 39: DFRC B-200 . 44 Figure 18: ASP Capabilities: Altitude v. range ....................28 Figure 40: Learjet 25 ...........................45 Figure 19: ASP Capabilities: Figure 41: GRC Twin Otter .....................46 Altitude v. range for manned Figure 42: S3-B Viking .........................47 science aircraft with nadir ports. 28 Figure 43: T-34C. 48 Figure 20: DC-8 Team ..........................30 Figure 44: JSC G-III Team. ......................49 Figure 21: DC-8 . 30 Figure 45: JSC G-III with P-Band Radar ..........49 Figure 22: ER-2 Team ..........................31 Figure 46: Falcon aircraft and planned Figure 23: ER-2 carrying CPL, TWiLiTE and paint scheme ........................50 CoSSIR.. 32 Figure 47: C-23 Sherpa Aircraft ..................51 Figure 24: P3 in Thule ..........................33 Figure 48: NASDAT ...........................52 Figure 25: P-3 Team. 33 Figure 49: Compilation of flight tracks Figure 26: WB-57 ..............................34 for Gulf Coast Oil Spill study ..........56 Figure 27: G-III DFRC Team ....................35 Figure 50: PRISM ..............................57 Figure 28: G-III. 35 Figure 51: Real-time aircraft tracking with Figure 29: Global Hawk Team ..................37 NOTAM overlay . 59 v Figure 52: Screen shot of Google Earth ...........59 Table of Tables Figure 53: Airborne support to future satellite missions. 62 Table 1: FY2011 Flight Requests and Figure 54: 2011 SARP students with the DC-8 .....63 Flight Hours by Aircraft ..................7 Figure 55: Locations of colleges re- Table 2: ESD Satellite Mission presented in 2011 SARP Support FY2011..........................13 program ............................64 Table 3: Instrument development Figure C.1: SARP student numbers and flights . ..16 schools for 2009 ......................75 Table 4: Science process studies .. ... ... ... ...17 Figure C.2: SARP student numbers and schools for 2010 ......................76 Table 5: Earth Venture 1 Flight Activities . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..18 Figure C.3: SARP student numbers and schools for 2011 ......................76 Table 6: ESD Applied Science support..................................23 Figure D.1: DC-8 flight profile ...................77 Table 7: A.40 missions . .. .. .. .. .. .. .24 Figure D.2: ER-2 flight profile ...................78 Table 8: NASA ASP Aircraft ......................26 Figure D.3: P-3 Orion flight profile ...............78 Table 9: ASP Platform capabilities. .. .. .. ..29 Figure D.4: WB-57 flight profile ..................79 Table 10: ASP Satcom types. .. .. .. .. .. .55 Figure D.5: G-III with UAVSAR flight profile ......79 Table 11: Airborne Science Support Figure D.6: Global Hawk flight profile . 80 Instruments. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..55 Figure D.7: SIERRA flight profile. 80 Table 12: EOS Airborne Science Figure D.8: Cessna 206-H flight profile. 81 Instruments. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..55 Figure D.9: LaRC & DFRC B-200 flight profile .....81 Table 13: SARP student numbers and schools ..............................75 Figure D.10: Learjet 25 flight profile ..............82 Figure D.11: GRC Twin Otter flight profile ........82 Figure D.12: GRC S3-B flight profile ..............83 vi Figure D.13: T-34C flight profile. .83 1Leadership Comments Welcome to the 2011 Airborne Science Annual to us for more than 4 researchers and their Report. This year, like 2010, was another instruments we really only had the GRC Twin busy year for us with over 2600 flight hours Otter (very tight fit for 4), the P-3 and the DC-8. flown, including deployments all over the We have used private assets as well as other world. We supported numerous satellite government agency assets but those aren’t instrument calibration and science data always available, cost effective, or meet the product validation flights, multiple Earth science requirements. The result is the addition Science missions including two Operation Ice of an HU-25 Falcon jet that we acquired from Bridge deployments (Arctic and the Antarctic), the Coast Guard and a C-23 Sherpa which Earth Venture 1 missions, UAVSAR studies, we acquired from the US Army. These will be AVIRIS and MASTER work, to name a few. In available beginning in 2012. We are also taking addition, we trained another 29 undergraduate a close look at what assets we no longer require and graduate students through our Student as we work within our budgets to provide Airborne Research Program for a total of over what the scientists need to do their jobs. 80 students over the last three years. While 2011 was another great year it also was one Thank you for taking the time to read this of profound sadness for the Airborne Science year’s annual report and hopefully we have Program. We lost a great member of the team provided useful information and given you this year, Michael Fitzgerald. We’d like to an understanding of our capabilities and dedicate this annual report to Michael and his accomplishments in 2011. We made a push family. He will be missed. in 2010 and in 2011 to get feedback on the program, and while we’ve received some, In 2011, we continued to look closely at our which we truly appreciate, we’re asking short, mid-, and long term needs to meet Earth for more. We exist to provide the scientific Science requirements, and we are improving community the infrastructure you require to and updating our web presence, infrastructure, support science, so please let us know what and platforms accordingly. As part of our you need and how we are doing. look, it became apparent that we really had a capability gap in the manned platform area. Bruce Tagg Randy Albertson