NOAA has successfully
completed its first series of missions using a high-altitude,
long-endurance unmanned aircraft system recently to support
NOAA’s operational and research needs. Over the course of one
flight, the Altair UAS set a number of records, including the
longest duration it has flown, the farthest distance from take off
to return to the same base, and the farthest total distance.
The flights further demonstrated that the General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems, Inc. Altair could carry an integrated sensor
package up to approximately 45,000 feet altitude for an extended
period to meet NOAA’s needs. These include oceanic and
atmospheric research, climate research, marine sanctuary mapping
and enforcement, nautical charting, and fisheries assessment and
enforcement. Such a capability allows NOAA to conduct missions
deemed “dull, dirty and dangerous,” those that would
otherwise be too dangerous or impractical for manned flight.
The missions were conducted in conjunction with NASA's Dryden
Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and
covered a range of scientific topics from atmospheric chemistry to
biological census and coastal mapping. The first flights began in
April 2005 and the final missions were completed in November. All
flights began and ended at Gray Butte Airfield, one of two General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. flight operations facilities in
California's Mojave Desert.
“With this successful demonstration, our ability to
understand and predict the world we live in is reaching new
heights,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad Lautenbacher,
Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and
NOAA administrator. “UASs fill in a critical gap where land-
and satellite-based observations sometimes fall short, giving us a
view of the planet never before seen. This milestone is a huge step
forward for earth sciences and will greatly help NOAA achieve its
mission goals to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources
to meet our Nation’s economic, social, and environmental
needs.”
The Altair is piloted from a command center at a remote site,
which allows for “dull, dirty and dangerous” missions
without risk to pilots, scientists and crew. Additionally, routine
or long-duration flights are made more affordable by eliminating
the need for multiple aircraft or crews required by manned
aircraft.
NOAA mounted a sophisticated instrument suite on Altair for the
missions. The scientific payload included instruments for
measurements of ocean color, atmospheric composition and
temperature, and a surface imaging and surveillance system.
Composition measurements include ozone and long-lived gases such as
halocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrous oxide. These are all
greenhouse gases that warm the earth by trapping solar energy in
the atmosphere.
“NOAA’s scientific objectives have pushed the
technology right to the edge and the results are promising,”
said Mike Aslaksen, project manager for the Altair mission and
chief of the NOAA Ocean Service Remote Sensing Division.
“We’ve flown it longer and farther than its typical
missions and found great results. UASs can take us places and
gather data that has never been possible before.”
During a recent flight, Altair completed an 18.4-hour mission
off the West Coast, taking off at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14 and
landing at 6:00 a.m. Nov. 15. The flight objectives were to collect
airborne data for approximately 20 hours with the NOAA science and
operational payload. The records for distance were broken during
this flight.
NOAA has research requirements in several areas that can be
addressed by UAS flights. For example, airborne sampling is
required for air quality and ocean studies, measuring the diurnal
patterns of biologically produced gases that impact climate change
and research in the remote polar regions to address stratospheric
ozone depletion.