+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Fire Detection                    |
|                                                                       |
| Vincent G. Ambrosia                                                   |
|                                                                       |
| Institute of Science & Environmental Policy, California State         |
| University -- Monterey Bay / NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett       |
| Field, California 94035-1000, USA, vambrosia@mail.arc.nasa.gov        |
|                                                                       |
| Steven S. Wegener                                                     |
|                                                                       |
| BAERI, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California           |
| 94035-1000, USA, <swegener@mail.arc.nasa.gov>                         |
|                                                                       |
| James A. Brass                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| NASA, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California            |
| 94035-1000, USA, <jbrass@mail.arc.nasa.gov>                           |
|                                                                       |
| Everett Hinkley                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| USDA-Forest Service, Remote Sensing Applications Center, Salt Lake    |
| City, Utah 84119, USA, <ehinkley@fs.fed.us>                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Keywords: UAV, Wildfires, NASA, USFS, Thermal Imaging                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ABSTRACT: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will undoubtedly become a   |
| workhorse of civilian government and private industry in the not too  |
| distant future. A "natural" niche for these platforms will be in      |
| support of agencies tasked with disaster management issues where      |
| rapid-response, in potentially harmful or dangerous situation is      |
| required. These "pilot-risk" arenas are natural candidates for        |
| technology demonstrations of UAV performance characteristics, coupled |
| with improved imaging (sensing) and data communications (telemetry)   |
| technologies.                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| NASA, tasked with developing UAV utility in the aerospace and         |
| research community, has embarked on an ambitious program to push the  |
| technological "envelop" of UAV use in research and applications. In   |
| 2001, NASA-Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, California)           |
| demonstrated UAVs as a wildfire remote sensing platform, gathering    |
| thermal data over fires and relaying that information through a       |
| satellite communications telemetry system in real-time to fire        |
| management personnel on the ground. The FiRE (**F**irst **R**esponse  |
| **E**xperiment) experiment demonstrated the combined use of a thermal |
| multi-spectral scanner, integrated on a large-payload-capacity UAV, a |
| satellite image data telemetry system, near-real-time image           |
| geo-rectification, and rapid Internet data dissemination to disaster  |
| managers.                                                             |
|                                                                       |
| NASA, in partnership with the US Forest Service and other groups are  |
| currently focused on the further advancements of UAV, payload,        |
| telemetry, and information processing for wildfire assessment. The    |
| next phase of that research, development, and demonstration will      |
| involve the use of a GA-ASI ALTAIR^®^ UAV. The Western States UAV     |
| Fire Mission project will demonstrate 24-hour coverage of fires       |
| throughout the Western United States. This long-duration mission will |
| demonstrate acquisition, telemetry and analysis of Thermal-IR digital |
| data over numerous fires spread throughout an area stretching from    |
| Mexico to Canada and the Pacific Ocean to Colorado. The \>4000        |
| nautical miles (\>6437 km) endurance of the ALTAIR will allow         |
| lingering over many of these potential fire events. This              |
| long-duration, large area coverage demonstration mission will exceed  |
| the capabilities currently employed to capture tactical fires data    |
| over large regions. These missions will be described along with some  |
| of the development criteria necessary to achieve long-duration        |
| instrument operations and data communication criteria.                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

#   {#section .unnumbered}

# introduction

![](media/image1.jpeg){width="3.901388888888889in" height="4.25in"}The
overarching goal of the Western States UAV Fire Mission is to collect
and distribute real-time, geo-registered, thermal multi-channel wildfire
image data from a UAV operating at altitudes between 20K and 45K feet
and flying a large segment of the continental western US within the
National Airspace (NAS). The mission demonstration will occur in late
summer 2005 and involve over-flight and data collection over various
fire events in the western United States, providing critical thermal
infrared imagery to fire Incident Command Centers through an Over-The
Horizon (OTH) satellite communications data stream. The mission will
encompass a region of the entire western United States, from the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from the Canadian border to the
Mexican border, and be flown over a 24-hour period (Figure 1).

> *Figure 1. A conceptual illustration of the planned UAV Western States
> Fire Mission. The ALTAIR UAV will be operated, launched and recovered
> from an airfield in Southern California. Flight vectoring and image
> capture will be provided over fires located throughout the western US.
> The ALTAIR capabilities will allow for +24-hour mission endurance and
> +4000 nm range endurance, allowing capture of information on fire
> condition and behavior in a region encompassing the Rocky Mountains to
> the Pacific Ocean, and from the Canadian to Mexican border.*

The Western States Fire Mission will leverage development in telemetry
enhancements, improved imaging capabilities and improved characteristics
of the ALTAIR UAV platform to demonstrate a mission encompassing the
entire western US. Aircraft and sensor autonomy developments being
pursued in a synergistic NASA program may also be incorporated into our
mission plans. This long-duration mission will allow multiple thermal IR
digital data acquisitions from a new NASA-Ames-developed 12-channel
WILDFIRE scanner over numerous fires spread throughout the Western US.
The +4000 nm endurance of the ALTAIR will allow lingering over many of
these potential fire events. Data will be transmitted from the aircraft
to a communications satellite and to the National Interagency Fire
Center (NIFC), located in Boise, Idaho. Planned enhancements for this
mission include full, on-board fire-image-modeling processing, as well
as real-time, terrain-corrected, geo-rectification of all data sets.
Fully corrected data will be telemetered and in the Incident Command
Center control within 10-minutes of data collection from the UAV.

Operational control over specific fire events will be dictated by the
NIFC personnel to direct the platform to incidents deemed of the highest
priority. The aircraft-vectoring process will also rely on the use of
the USFS MODIS Rapid Response System (RRS) data to derive fire locations
and incident priority.

This paper highlights the concepts, plans and engineering systems
enhancements necessary for performing the long-duration Western States
Fire Mission. The focus of these efforts is directed towards sensor
development, telemetry integration, and platform considerations as well
as detailing possible mission operations within the National Airspace.

## Background

NASA and the USFS have collaborated since the early 1980's on the
development of improved wildfire imaging capabilities, both from orbital
and sub-orbital platforms (Ambrosia, *et al*., 1994; Ambrosia, *et al*.,
1998; Brass, *et al*., 1987; and Buechel, *et al*., 2001). A recent
NASA-funded applications project (WRAP Project, 1 July 2003 initiation)
focuses on the development, enhancement, technology transfer and
integration of fire imaging technologies between the partner agency
teams (NASA, 2002). NASA-derived technologies in UAV operations and
performance are directly applicable to USFS requirements to facilitate
improved and timelier observance and collection of wildfire data
(Schrader-Patton and Greenfield, 2000). The USFS has requirements for
24-hour coverage of fire events over large areas (multi-state coverage).
UAVs have the potential to be an effective aircraft for filling that
required niche because they are long-duration, high-altitude, tactical
remote sensing instrument platforms. The collaborative efforts between
the USFS and NASA have included the *WILDFIRE* demonstration project and
other mission-specific support endeavors (Ambrosia, *et al*., 1998). The
successful demonstration of fire imaging capabilities aboard UAVs in
September 2001 during the FiRE experiment, has driven the further
enhancement for R&D and demonstration opportunities aboard similar
platforms, but extending the capabilities of the imaging instruments,
data telemetry technologies, image manipulation and the UAV platform
(Ambrosia, *et al*., 2003)(Figure 2). The Western States UAV Fire
Mission is highlighted in this paper.

> ![](media/image2.png){width="3.5in"
> height="2.640277777777778in"}*Figure 2. The ALTUS II in flight during
> the FiRE demonstration, September 2001. The UAV contained the AIRDAS
> imaging system and a data telemetry system capable of Over-The-Horizon
> data relay. The mission was performed in closed airspace, over a
> controlled burn event.*

# Mission Science and Technology Development

The Western States UAV Fire Mission is an enhanced "follow-on" to the
highly successful FiRE project. The objective of this mission is to
demonstrate successful, high altitude data collection by a UAV over a
wildfire within the National Airspace (outside perimeters of closed test
range facilities). The purpose of the Western States UAV Fire Mission is
to further demonstrate enhancements to the UAV platform capabilities,
improvements to the payload data collection system, telemetry
capabilities, and image geo-rectification and data / information
decision support system enhancement.

The overarching goal of the mission is to demonstrate methodologies to
collect and distribute real-time, geo-registered, multispectral wildfire
image data from a long-duration mission-capable UAV operating at
altitudes between 20K and 45K feet. The UAV will operate from Gray
Butte, California. We anticipate a mission capability of 24-hours
on-site over various fire events throughout the western United States,
providing thermal infrared imagery.

To achieve these objectives it is necessary to initiate a rapid ramp-up
of interim mission capabilities prior to the 24-hour mission. These
include full lab and in-flight testing of platform, sensor package and
telemetry technologies at high altitude (50K feet) for extended mission
periods. The program will ramp-up mission capabilities to 24 hours to
allow full successful implementation of the Western States Fire Mission.
To successfully implement the Western States UAV Fire Mission, a series
of developments in payload, platform, data telemetry, image collection
and use, and data distribution and mission management have to be
integrated. Those systems enhancements and technology development
criteria are addressed in the following sections.

## Sensor Systems

A former multi-use NASA facility sensor system is being completely
re-built into a modular UAV system, for use in technology demonstration
projects. The original system was composed of a Daedalus AADS-1268
scanning system and had three flight configurations: as a LANDSAT
Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS,) an Airborne Ocean Color Imager (AOCI,)
and the Multi-spectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS). The TMS was
used for land-cover studies, and also for wildfire imaging; the MAMS was
used for severe storm studies, and supported the CAMEX experiments; the
AOCI was used as a Coastal Zone Color Scanner satellite simulator. The
new system is currently being reconfigured into a fully functional
UAV-compatible sensor with a similar variety of scan-head
configurations, including a wildfire scanning configuration (Figure 3).

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.25in" height="2.4368055555555554in"}

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="2.98125in" height="2.3756944444444446in"}

*Figure 3. WILDFIRE Scanner Digitizer Module with Pressure Housings and
Motor Controller and the Motor/ Mirror Module installed in scanning
optics module.*

The 12-channel WILDFIRE Scanner is being modified at the NASA-Ames
Research Center Airborne Sensor Facility (ASF) for operations on-board
both manned and UAV platforms. The instrument has been modified to
fulfill scientific requirements for fire imaging, with the replacement
of two spectral channels in the TIR to allow measurement of fire (and
other hot sources) in the TIR (Table 1). The two "new" channels,
simulate those found on the proposed Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer
Suite (VIIRS) (see:
http://www.ipo.noaa.gov/Technology/viirs_summary.html) instrument,
scheduled for orbital operations aboard the National Polar-orbiting
Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) satellite series.
These two channels replace the original AADS-1268 channels 11 and 12,
which were wide-band (8.5-14μm) low- and high-gain TIR channels.

*Table 1. WILDFIRE 12-channel Scanner Specifications*

  ---------------------- ------------------------------------------------
  **[Spectral            **[Wavelength μm]{.underline}**
  Band]{.underline}**    

  1                      0.42- 0.45

  2                      0.45- 0.52 (TM1)

  3                      0.52- 0.60 (TM2)

  4                      0.60- 0.62

  5                      0.63- 0.69 (TM3)

  6                      0.69- 0.75

  7                      0.76- 0.90 (TM4)

  8                      0.91- 1.05

  9                      1.55- 1.75 (TM5)

  10                     2.08- 2.35 (TM7)

  11                     3.60- 3.79 (VIIRS M12)

  12                     10.26-11.26 (VIIRS M15)

                         

  **Total Field of       
  View:** 42.5 or 85.9   
  degrees (selectable)   

  **IFOV:** 1.25 mrad or 
  2.5mrad ( selectable)  

  **Spatial              
  Resolution:** 3 -- 50  
  meters (variable based 
  on alt)                
  ---------------------- ------------------------------------------------

The new 12-channel Fire scanner is being configured for autonomous
operations and remote control operations and will be fully functional
for flight testing in June 2005. The instrument will be tested aboard
manned aircraft prior to UAV mission configuration aboard the ALTAIR
platform in mid-summer 2005.

Other modifications to the WILDFIRE scanner include the development of a
wireless remote interface control capability to allow operations on UAV
platforms and the development of a fully pressurized containment vessel
(pressure "can") to allow system operations in adverse temperature and
pressure conditions (long-duration, high-altitude missions). The
inclusion of both TE and Sterling Detector cooling mechanisms for the
TIR channels, precludes the need for LN2 maintenance and allows the
sensor to operate for extended periods without "down-time" to refill
instrument dewars (as required with LN2 cooled TIR detector systems).
Modifications also include a pressurized electronics housing, 16-bit
Digitizer w/ Auxiliary CPU, New Scanning Optics Module, Solid State
Storage Media, and long-duration autonomous operation capabilities.
These sensor developments will allow autonomous or remote operations of
the sensor package aboard a UAV platform during our planned wildfire
imaging mission. Other major enhancements include the inclusion of more
spectral channels in the short-wave IR and visible portion of the
spectrum. The scanning optics is also improved, allowing for a more
robust system with improved imaging capabilities.

## UAV Platform

The Western States UAV Fire Mission will utilize the General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems, Inc. ALTAIR UAV platform (Figure 4a). The ALTAIR,
a high-altitude version of the Predator B, was specifically designed as
an unmanned platform for both scientific and commercial research
missions that require endurance, reliability and increased payload
capacity. Built in partnership with NASA, the ALTAIR has an 86 ft
wingspan, can fly up to 52,000 ft and can remain airborne for well over
30 hours. The ALTAIR has the payload capacity to easily accommodate
large sensor packages and electronics, and can be fitted with an
external "belly" pod for instrumentation as well. To meet aviation
authority requirements for unmanned flights in National Air Space, the
ALTAIR is configured with a fault-tolerant dual-architecture flight
control system and triple redundant avionics for increased reliability.
The ALTAIR is currently being integrated with an automated collision
avoidance system as well as an air traffic control voice relay that will
increase responsiveness and communication for flights in the National
Airspace. The +4000 nautical miles (+6437 km) endurance of the ALTAIR
will allow lingering over many of the potential fire events in an
extensive region.

The ALTAIR aircraft is controlled by a solid-state digital ground
control station (GCS) (Figure 4b) through a C-Band line-of-sight (LOS)
data link. The aircraft are capable of direct control and passing
real-time imagery and payload data to the GCS at ranges up to 150 nm or
operating autonomously to the range limits of the aircraft. In addition
to the LOS link, the ALTAIR also has a Ku-Band satellite data link
installed for routine over-the-horizon operations. A portable GCS is
also available, providing mobile units the ability to control the
aircraft and receive valuable intelligence from the field.

> **a.** ![](media/image5.png){width="2.7743055555555554in"
> height="1.8576388888888888in"} **b.**
> ![](media/image6.jpeg){width="2.8020833333333335in"
> height="1.8458333333333334in"}
>
> *Figure 4. The General Atomics ALTAIR UAV (a), and the UAV Ground
> Control Station (GCS) (b). The ALTAIR UAV is an updated variant of the
> Predator aircraft, build for operations as a scientific platform. The
> ground control station (b) is used to control aircraft operations
> through Line-of-Sight (LOS) or Over-the-Horizon (OTH) communications.
> Payload data can be delivered through this C&C link as well.*
>
> *Table 2. General Atomics -- Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI)
> ALTAIR^®^ UAV system specifications (GA-ASI ALTAIR Experimenter's
> Handbook, 2001).*

  ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------------
  **Dimensions**    Wing Span 84 ft.; Length 36.2 ft.; Height 11.8 ft.

  **Weights**       Max Fuel Wt. 3500 lb; Payload Wt. 750 lb.; Max GTOW 7700
                    lbs.

  **Propulsion**    700 BHP TPE331-10 Allied Signal Turboprop with McCauley
                    3-bladed, hydraulic, constant speed, variable/reverse
                    pitch propeller

  **Performance**   Max Altitude: 55,000 ft.; Endurance: 32 Hours (with 700
                    lb payload); Cruise/Loiter Speed 144 KIAS; Range: 4500 nm

  **Payload Specs** Size: 80"L x 35"H x 40"W, (Adaptable); Max Wt. 750 lbs.,
                    Payload

  **Shipping Size** Aircraft w/o prop: 36.5'L x 5.3'H x 6'W; Prop: 8'x8'x3'

  **Navigation**    Three integrated IMUs and three Differential GPS
                    (optional P-code)

  **Avionics**      C-Band LOS Range: 100 nm; 500 Kbs Ku-band OTH Operations;
                    autonomous flight (no data link)

  **FTS**           GA-ASI Rocket deployed parachute and NASA Flight
                    Termination System

  **Landing Gear**  Normal tricycle type retractable landing gear.
  ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------------

The WILDFIRE payload will be integrated on the ALTAIR in mid-summer 2005
and ground and flight-tested prior to the Western States Mission. Due to
limitations in available nose payload space, the WILDFIRE scanner and
all associated electronics will be reconfigured into a belly pod,
freeing the nose payload bay for other small instrumentation (Figure 5).
Other instrumentation will include a high spatial resolution (16 Mpixel)
digital camera, and the Skyball, providing visible, IR and TIR video of
the targeted areas for WILDFIRE scanner imaging.

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="3.0in" height="2.2006944444444443in"}

> *Figure 5. The ALTAIR platform (in the Mariner configuration) with a
> fuselage centerline instrumentation pod attached. This pod
> configuration, containing the WILDFIRE scanner will be similar to that
> proposed for the Western States UAV Fire Mission.*

## Data Telemetry

During the Western States UAV Fire Mission, the aircraft will be
commanded and controlled via the Ku-Band, Over-The-Horizon (OTH) data
link. The aircraft will be operated from the Ground Control Station
located at Gray Butte, California (near Edwards Air Force Base, Dryden
Flight Research Center. The KU-band communication link is established
from the GCS, through a commercial satellite provider, to the antenna
configured on the ALTAIR in the forward payload bay (Figure 6). That
Command and Control (C&C) link is also shared with any real-time
instrumentation relay capabilities that are required for downlink from
the aircraft payloads.

> ![](media/image8.jpeg){width="3.125in" height="2.089583333333333in"}

*Figure 6 (Left). A schematic of the instrument payload bay in the
ALTAIR showing the location and configuration of the C&C / Data
Telemetry Antenna, the Skyball imaging system, and the forward
instrument compartment (The WILDFIRE scanner components would not fit in
the nose under current fairing restrictions). (Right) An image of the
forward nose payload area with the 30" Ku-band C&C / Data Telemetry
antenna in the center of the image.*

The Ku-band system operates at a potential data throughput of 500 Kbs.
This telemetry link is shared with the C&C, which utilizes a small
fraction of that bandwidth (\~9.6 Kbs). The Skyball system, mounted
under the nose payload area will be used for targeting and alignment of
the platform and the WILDFIRE scanner during approach to a targeted
fire. The streaming video feed from the Skyball will also be sent over
the Ku-band satellite uplink / downlink to the GCS. At the GCS, the
streaming video will be sent over the Internet for viewing during the
entirety of the mission via the WRAP project web page
(<http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/sge/WRAP>). The WILDFIRE scanner payload will
operate during the mission entirety, and all scan-line data will be
collected and stored on-board on removable hard drives. While collecting
fire data over a targeted event, the resultant output geo-rectified
image will be sent to the telemetry uplink antenna for transmission to a
ground node (National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), for
re-distribution to Incident Command Centers or other investigators via
the Internet.

## Data Management, Processing and Delivery

During the Western States UAV Fire Mission, real-time telemetered data
will be sent from the imaging system aboard the UAV to a ground
receiving / processing station for further distribution via the World
Wide Web (WWW). The telemetered data will consist of a defined 3-band,
color and thermal imagery of the target areas. Any band combination can
be specified of the 12 available spectral channels. Navigation data
onboard the aircraft will include an Applanix PosAv system for precision
geo-location of the data and platform orientation. The PosAv navigation
data set includes variables such as: date and time of acquisition (for
each scan line of data), geographic coordinates from the onboard DGPS,
altitude, aircraft speed, pitch, roll, and yaw, scan line count,
heading, and other system health and location variables. The navigation
file is processed through a "scanner model" of the WILDFIRE
configuration to provide a geo-correction of the telemetered image data.
During the Western States UAV Fire Mission, processing of the data
stream will be accomplished on-board the UAV. All automated
geo-rectification procedures will be "ported" to the Device Link Module
computer for real-time acquisition, image enhancement, and
geo-rectification. Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) topographic
data for the entire US will reside on the on-board computer and will be
used for automated terrain-corrected geo-rectification of the image
data. The SRTM data will be integrated with the navigation information,
the aircraft attitude information and the "sensor model" data to derive
a terrain-corrected GEOTIFF file of a captured scene area. The GEOTIFF
will allow easy integration into the standard GIS package (ESRI ARC)
used by the USFS at regional offices and at most Incident Command
Centers (ICC).

Various data sets will be generated during the mission. One data set
will consist of a "standard" TIR-IR-VIS band combination to showcase
active fire regimes and gradients of hot regions (back fires, smoldering
ash, coals, etc)(Figure 6a). Another image data set of interest to the
USFS is the spectral band combination that easily depicts burned area
severity. This data is utilized by the Burned Area Emergency
Rehabilitation (BAER) teams to assess burn severity within 72 hours of
fire containment, in order to take necessary and rapid rehabilitation
work (replanting, soil erosion control, stream drainage protection and
clearing). The BAER teams usually relay on satellite resources (Landsat,
SPOT, etc), but due to the latency of the orbit and product delivery,
the data is often too old (or unavailable) for use on the rehabilitation
work. The BAER imagery will be provided over fires under control or
recently in control to showcase the capabilities of utilization of a
multispectral airborne system (Figure 6b).

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.25in" height="2.2069444444444444in"}

*Figure 6a. Image of active burning fire front in Southern California
(Marble Fire near Castaic Lake), composed of TIR-IT-VIS spectral
channels. Figure 7b. Example of BAER imagery for Curve and Williams
Fire, Southern California, depicting various gradients of burn
severity.*

## Mission Management System

The Western States UAV Fire Mission will also showcase and demonstrate
an Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) / Collaborative Decision
Environment (CDE) to facilitate mission control and performance metrics,
and to rapidly ingest and display platform information, payload data,
moving map displays, and flight profile data. The IMM/CDE will be
employed during the mission to various partner entities to display all
of the management activities in a series of active, shared computer
window environments. The Incident Command Center will be able to
continuously (and in real-time) follow and monitor the condition of the
UAV platform and the swath and profile of the acquiring imaging sensor
over a terrain map. Additional elements that are added to the IMM/CDE
include other critical data sets, like real-time NOAA weather imagery,
wind vectors, MODIS coverage, Remote Access Weather Stations (RAWS), and
geo-located resources (personnel, fire vehicles, etc). This
collaborative shared environment system will be used to appropriately
vector the UAV to emerging targets, to allow flight path
reconfiguration, to allow QA/QC of image data, and to allow real-time
communication between various project elements deployed throughout the
country (Figure 7).

![](media/image12.png){width="2.7784722222222222in" height="2.05625in"}

> *Figure 7. Schematic of Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) /
> Collaborative Decision Environment (CDE) System. The diagram displays
> the ingestion of various data elements during the mission and the
> sharing and dissemination of pertinent data to the fire community,
> science community and the public.*

## Western States UAV Fire Mission Preparation

## The Western States UAV Fire Mission will require coordination with the USFS as well as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA will require the submission of a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to operate the UAV in the National Airspace (NAS). The authorization to fly is required to be submitted approximately (currently) 72 hours prior to the mission. This restriction will necessitate the development of a flight characteristic profile map of large fire complexes, their location and probable access airspace routes for the UAV to traverse to over-fly and acquire wildfire imagery. Due to operational restrictions over major populated regions, a flight profile map is currently being finalized for FAA review (Figure 8). The map will be used to define accessible UAV coverage areas, wildfire locations within those regions, and aircraft access (or restrictions) within 72 hours of our mission. The corridors of potential operation (seen on map), leave out the Great Basin region of the West (Nevada, etc). This semi-arid, high-desert region is dominated by sage and grasses, and fires within the area are of reduced concern to the fire community. The major regions of concern are in the timbered, mountainous regions with high fire potential this burning season. Those regions are seen in the violet and blue hachured regions on the map. {#the-western-states-uav-fire-mission-will-require-coordination-with-the-usfs-as-well-as-the-federal-aviation-administration-faa.-the-faa-will-require-the-submission-of-a-certificate-of-authorization-coa-to-operate-the-uav-in-the-national-airspace-nas.-the-authorization-to-fly-is-required-to-be-submitted-approximately-currently-72-hours-prior-to-the-mission.-this-restriction-will-necessitate-the-development-of-a-flight-characteristic-profile-map-of-large-fire-complexes-their-location-and-probable-access-airspace-routes-for-the-uav-to-traverse-to-over-fly-and-acquire-wildfire-imagery.-due-to-operational-restrictions-over-major-populated-regions-a-flight-profile-map-is-currently-being-finalized-for-faa-review-figure-8.-the-map-will-be-used-to-define-accessible-uav-coverage-areas-wildfire-locations-within-those-regions-and-aircraft-access-or-restrictions-within-72-hours-of-our-mission.-the-corridors-of-potential-operation-seen-on-map-leave-out-the-great-basin-region-of-the-west-nevada-etc.-this-semi-arid-high-desert-region-is-dominated-by-sage-and-grasses-and-fires-within-the-area-are-of-reduced-concern-to-the-fire-community.-the-major-regions-of-concern-are-in-the-timbered-mountainous-regions-with-high-fire-potential-this-burning-season.-those-regions-are-seen-in-the-violet-and-blue-hachured-regions-on-the-map. .unnumbered}

![](media/image13.png){width="3.547222222222222in"
height="2.522222222222222in"}

> *Figure 8. Western States UAV Fire mission flight planning map.
> Potential flight areas include the violet hachured region (primary)
> and the blue hachured area (secondary). Red circles indicate high
> density urban areas of potential flight restrictions.*

# Concluding Remarks

The Western States UAV Fire Mission will demonstrate the capabilities of
numerous integrated systems for compatibity, operations, and endurance
aboard a UAV platform. Central to the project mission focus are:
demonstrating capabilities of remote and autonomous operations of
sophisticated thermal imaging systems; the ability to showcase new,
innovative OTH satellite communications telemetry technologies; the
demonstration of improved on-board data handling, processing and image
geo-rectification procedures; improvements in fire data product quality
and delivery in a shortened period of time; and demonstration of the
unique capabilities of UAV platforms for flying extended duration,
high-altitude missions within the NAS. The successful integration and
implementation of these technologies will have a profound effect on
improving the decision support system mechanism for disaster-related
events both within the partnering agency (USFS) and with other
associated disaster management and mitigation agencies and
organizations.

The showcasing of NASA and industry payload and UAV technology "melding"
will lead to improved capabilities both within the platforms and imaging
systems. It is anticipated that the Western States UAV Fire Mission
demonstration will lead to new technologies and procedures supporting
anticipated UAV airspace operational and system certification standards.

# Acknowledgements

This research and applications endeavor is supported by the NASA Office
of Sun-Earth Systems Directorate, Applied Sciences Program, NASA
CAN-02-OES-01, Earth Science REASoN (Research, Education and
Applications Solutions Network) program. Additional support is provided
by the NASA Suborbital Airborne Science Program Office. The authors wish
to acknowledge the support of numerous individuals in the development of
this project and paper: S. Ambrose, E. Sheffner, C. Yuhas, S. Buechel,
S. Dunagan, D. Sullivan, M. Fladeland, R. Slye, R. Higgins, S. Herwitz,
K. Weinstock, E. Hildum, D. Allen, J. Myers, and A. Coffland. From the
USFS, the authors would like to acknowledge the partnership and support
of the following: P. Greenfield, T. Bobbe, and T. Zajkowski. Without
their foresight, vision and drive this project could not be undertaken.

# REFERENCES

Ambrosia, V.G., Brass, J.A., Allen, J.B., Hildum, E.A. and Higgins, R.G,
1994. AIRDAS, Development of a Unique Four Channel Scanner for Natural
Disaster Assessment. *Proceedings of the First International Airborne
Remote Sensing Conference*, 11-15 September 1994, Strasbourg, France,
Vol. II, pp 129-141.

Ambrosia, V.G., Buechel, S.W., Brass, J.A., Peterson, J.R., Davies,
R.H., Kane, R.J., and Spain, S., 1998. An Integration of Remote Sensing,
GIS, and Information Distribution for Wildfire Detection and Management.
*Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing*, 64(10), 1998, pp.
977-985.

Ambrosia, V.G., Wegener, S.S., Sullivan, D.V., Buechel, S.W., Dunagan,
S.E., Brass, J.A., Stoneburner, J., Schoenung, S.M., "Demonstrating
UAV-Acquired Real-Time Thermal Data Over Fires," *Photogrammetric
Engineering and Remote Sensing*, 69(4), 2003, pp. 391-402.

Brass, J.A., Ambrosia, V.G., Riggan, P.J., Myers, J.S. and Arvesen,
J.C., 1987. Aircraft and Satellite Thermographic Systems for Wildfire
Mapping and Assessment. *Proceedings, 25^th^ Aerospace Sciences Meeting,
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics*, Reno, Nevada, 12-15
January 1987, Paper. No. 87-0887, pp. 1-7.

Buechel, S., L. Pious, J. Brass, 2001. Near Real-Time Mapping for
Wildland Fire Characterization and Model Calibration. *Proceedings of
5th International Airborne Remote Sensing Conference*, 17-20 September,
San Francisco, California, CD-ROM paper no. 101, pp. 1-8.

NASA CAN-02-OES-01 Earth Science REASoN -- Research, Education and
Applications Solutions Network, pp. 1-93, 2002.

Schrader-Patton, C. and P. Greenfield (2000). Infrared Imagery and Map
Products: A Survey of the IC Community. *[USDA-Forest Service, National
Interagency Fire Center, Fire and Aviation Management Project
Report]{.underline}*, Report LSP-5100-RPT1, May 2000, pp.1-6.