NASA and U.S. Dept. of Agriculture -- Forest Service (USDA FS) Fire
Mission

Briefing on Kickoff Meeting in Palmdale, CA at the NASA Aero Building

May 2, 2006

Reported by James W. Elkins

Phone: (303) 497-6224, E-mail:James.W.Elkins@noaa.gov

-   Purpose of NASA-USDA FS Fire mission is a UAS trial mission to
    remotely sense active forest fires from high altitude and locate hot
    spots for fire fighters to extinguish on the ground. There will be
    four 20-hour flights in the western United States during the peak of
    fire season. The area is a donut shaped area that excludes
    restricted areas in Nevada and Utah. Flight area includes
    California-Oregon-Washington states as far east as western Colorado
    between the Canadian and Mexican borders. NASA Fire multi-band
    infrared remote sensors will be placed in a pod under the fuselage.
    The pod is being constructed by General Atomics and will be finished
    in 2-3 weeks. Cruising altitude of UAS Altair will be 43,000 ft.,
    altitude after takeoff and before landing will be no lower than
    18,000 ft.

-   NOAA will provide Fire mission with prior UAS experience and
    sampling of fire plumes for fire generated trace gases (H~2~O, O~3~,
    CO, CH~4~, N~2~O) where possible.

-   NOAA/ESRL/GMD UCATS instrument will provide the following:

    -   Ambient air temperature (-70 C -- 180 C) to 0.1 C accuracy and
        relative humidity measurements (0-100%) once every 8 sec using
        Vaisala series HMT 337 probe.

    -   Tropospheric (0-200 ppb) and stratospheric ozone (O~3~)
        measurements (\>200 ppb -10 ppm) once every 10 seconds using 2B,
        Inc Ozone photometer.

    -   Atmospheric nitrous oxide (N~2~O) and sulfur hexafluoride
        (SF~6~) once every 70 seconds using custom gas chromatograph
        (GC) with electron capture detection (ECD).

    -   Atmospheric hydrogen (H~2~), methane (CH~4~), and carbon
        monoxide (CO) measurement once every 140 seconds using custom
        GC-ECD.

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-   NOAA/ESRL/GMD goals for mission:

    -   Test new temperature/relative humidity probe, new tunable diode
        laser spectrometer for water vapor, and new H~2~, CH~4~, CO
        GC-ECD channel.

    -   Continue interagency cooperation with NASA and US Forest Service
        started with the 2005 NOAA UAS demonstration.

    -   If plane operates in forest fire plumes, NOAA will measure
        biomass burning trace gases, including H~2~O, O~3~, CO, CH~4~,
        N~2~O.

    -   Observe troposphere-stratosphere exchanges events when possible.

    -   Observe man-made tropospheric pollution from cities (SF~6~, CO,
        and O~3~).

    -   Validate the instruments on the NASA Aura satellite for H~2~O,
        O~3~, N~2~O, CH~4~, and N~2~O.

    -   When in the stratosphere, use SF~6~ observations to determine
        the age of the air.

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-   REVEAL (NASA DFRC) will provide data link for UCATS instrument,
    ground presence of Altair aircraft, and prior UAS experience to
    mission. Total bandwidth is 9600 baud (4 times more than the NOAA
    UAS demo).

-   Argus instrument from NASA ARC will provide CO measurements at 0.5
    Hz for only 8 hours during the flight.

-   UCATS, Argus, and REVEAL are piggybacking on this mission on a not
    to interfere basis.

> More Details:

-   First instrument integration begins June 12.

-   First test flight begins July 24.

-   Mission begins August 14 and ends August 31. GA contract till the
    end of Sept.

-   Only large and long endurance fires will be flown over, because the
    COA requires 72-hour notice to the FAA. Added nadir flight camera,
    no digital camera, and no skyball with EO/IR camera.

-   Logistics: No weekend flights, tight tool control, labs in hangar,
    internet provided for E-mail, web browsing, and small file
    transfers, and prior permission required for photography at GA Gray
    Butte facility. NASA investigating separate high-speed internet
    service.

Attendees: Greg Buoni (DFRC), Maria Caballero (DFRC), Mike Cooper
(GA-ASI), Ken Cross (AS&M, Frank Cutler (DFRC), Rose Dominguez (UCSC),
Kent Dunwoody (UCSC), Jim Elkins (NOAA), Larry Freudinger, Gil Gagne
(GA-ASI), Matt Graham (DFRC), Jeff Grose (ARC), Beth Hagenauer (DFRC
Public Affairs), Everett Hinkley (USDA-FS), Chris Jennison (DFRC),
Jimena Lopez (ARC), Charles McKee (DFRC), Jeff Myers (ARC), Robert
Navarro (DFRC), Ryan Ogle (GA-ASI), Herman Posada (DFRC), Susan
Schoenung (ARC), Don Sullivan (ARC), Trent Theriault (DFRC), Steve
Wegener (ARC), Michael Young (DFRC)

ARC-NASA Ames Research Center

DFRC-NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.

UCSC-University of California Santa Cruz