Overview of the NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program

Robbie Hood, DirectorNOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program

25 September 2012

NOAA and NASA Manned and Unmanned Flight Capabilities

Fuel consumption (gph) for nominal mission

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Altit

ude

(kft)

Duration (hrs)

LASE

LALE

IKHANA

APQ-16

ResolutionPuma AEmd4-1000

MALE

MannedAircraft

UAS

ER-2

WB-57

GulfstreamDC-8

WP-3D

Turbo Commander

King Air

Twin Otter

Gray Eagle

Global Hawk

HALE

Shadow 200

Manta Viking 400

Arcturus T-20

ScanEagle Aerosonde

70

181750

740

0.2

444

75

0.3

0 (battery)

NOAA UAS Strategic Vision and Goals

• Vision– UAS will revolutionize NOAA observing strategies by

2015 comparable to the introduction of satellite and radar assets decades earlier

• Goals– Goal 1: Increase UAS observing capacity – Goal 2: Develop high science-return UAS missions

• High impact weather monitoring, • Polar monitoring • Marine monitoring

– Goal 3: Transition cost-effective, operationally feasible UAS solutions into routine operations

Polar Monitoring - Greenland Glacier and Ice Seal

Testbed Co-leads: Dr. Elizabeth Weatherhead (University of Colorado) Dr. Robyn Angliss (NOAA/ National Marine Mammal Laboratory Partners: Greenland Glacier Study / University of Colorado and BAE Systems -Advanced Ceramics Research

Bering Sea Ice Seal Study / University of Alaska- Fairbanks and Boeing - Insitu

Images courtesy of James Maslanik, University of Colorado Images courtesy of Greg Walker, University of Alaska - Fairbanks

Greenland Glacier Study - 2008 Bering Sea Ice Seal Study - 2009

NMFS uses two types of aircraft survey protocols for marine

mammals

1. Broad, large scale line transect surveys for density/abundance/distribution• Four species of Arctic ice seals • Whales• Beyond line-of-sight flights will be critical to mission success

2. Collecting data on wildlife at known locations• Steller sea lions • Northern fur seals• Do testing within line of sight; Beyond line-of-sight flights will be

necessary long-term for collection of some data

Evaluated ScanEagle in 2009

Evaluated hexacopter in Antarctica in 2011.Evaluated Puma and quadcopter in 2012.

Planning to evaluate in 2014

Soot Transport, Absorption, and Deposition Study (STADS)

NOAA component of the Coordinated Investigation of Climate-Cryosphere Interactions (CICCI) collaboration with Norwegian and Russian scientists

STADS Mission Scientists: Tim Bates and Patricia Quinn (NOAA/ESRL)

Completed Science Campaigns• Global Hawk Pacific (March-April 2010)

• 11 instruments• 4 science missions, 76 hours • First Global Hawk Science Mission• Flights spanned 12 to 85 deg N Latitudes

• Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (August-September 2010)

• 4 Instruments• 5 science missions, 114 hours total• First Global Hawk severe storm over flight

• Winter Storm Pacific and Atmospheric Rivers (February-March 2011)

• 2 Instruments• 3 science missions, 70 hours total• First operational dropsonde deployment,

177sondes total

7

•Mission Scientists: Paul Newman (NASA/GSFC) and David Fahey (NOAA/ESRL)•First Global Hawk flight north of 70º N.•First Global Hawk mission to have pole to pole

command and control, and payload communications links.

Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) Experiment

A partnership between NASA , NOAA, and Northrop Grumman

NCAR/NOAA GH Dropsonde System

Dropsonde System Launch Tube

Dropsonde Launch Assembly

Dropsonde System Electronics

NOAA Benefit From

NASA Hurricane Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Experiment

Environment Observations• Profiles of temperature, humidity,

wind, and pressure (AVAPS)• Cloud top height (CPL)• Cloud top temperature and profiles of

temperature and humidity (S-HIS)

Over-storm Observations• Doppler velocity, horizontal winds, and

ocean surface winds (HIWRAP)• Profiles of temperature and humidity

and total precipitable water (HAMSR)• Ocean surface winds and rain

(HIRAD)

NASA HS3 Mission Over Tropical Storm Nadine (11 – 12 Sept 2012)

3 NOAA Pilots Participated in

25-Hour Mission

First Real-time Global Hawk Dropsonde Into NOAA Gateway

HS3 Preliminary Results

• 5 science flights to date

• 4 into various stages of Nadine

• 268 sondes deployed

• Next flight scheduled for Wednesday

• NOAA-led real-time data processing

• Data transmitted through GTS

• Data incorporated in NHC discussions

• Parallel model runs with assimilation planned

BASED ON THE IMPROVED SATELLITE APPEARANCE AND TROPICAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF 2.5 AND 3.0 FROM SAB AND TAFB... NADINE IS CLASSIFIED AS A TROPICAL STORM ONCE AGAIN. DROPSONDE DATA FROM AN ONGOING NASA GLOBAL HAWK MISSION SUGGESTS THAT THE MAXIMUM WINDS ARE NEAR 50 KT. A DROPWINDSONDE NEAR THE CENTER AROUND 1030 UTC MEASURED A PRESSURE OF 989.9 MB WITH STRONG WINDS...SO THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 986 MB.

TROPICAL STORM NADINE DISCUSSION NUMBER 44

NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER

1100 AM AST SUN SEP 23 2012

Five HS3 Flights

Contact Information

UAS Web Site: http://uas.noaa.gov/

Questions should be directed to: noaa.uas@noaa.gov

Phil Kenul - NOAA UAS Program Senior Technical Advisor (philip.m.kenul@noaa.gov) Robbie Hood - NOAA UAS Program Director (robbie.hood@noaa.gov)