Universities Space Research Association 

139-A McMurtrie Drive 

Huntsville, AL 35806 

(205) 895-0582 

December 23, 1987 

TRANSMITTAL LETTER 

Please find enclosed a copy of the final report fulfilling the reporting 

requirements for Contract NAS8-34748, "Atmospheric Electricity." 

Respectfully submitted, 

Maurice d? G. Estes, 5s- Jr. 

Contracts Manager 

Final (NAS &-CIt.-l79239) Report, 28 Hay ATllOSPfIEB 9982 - IC 21 ELECTBICIXT Oct. 1967 N88- 145 75 

fUniversities Space Besearch Association) 

7P CSCL O4B Unclas 

G3/47 Ot15088 
Final Report Contract NAS8-34748 

Distribution _. 

0 NASA/MSFC 

Code: AP29-F 

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 

5 NASA/MSFC 

Code: AS24-D 

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 

1 NASA/MSFC 

Code: AT01 

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 

1 NASA/MSFC 

Code: EM1 3A-15 

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 

2 NASA/MSFC 

Code: ED43/Christian 

Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 

2 USRA Headquarters 

Attn: Contract Administrator 

The American City Building, Suite 212 

Columbia, MD 21044 

, 
FINAL REPORT 

RESEARCH STUDY: 

ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY 

CONTRACT NO. NAS8-34748 

REPORTING PERIOD: May 28, 1982 to October 21, 1987 

Program Director: Dr. Michael W. Kalb 

PREPARED FOR: 

THE GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER 

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, 

ALABAMA 35812 

UNIVERSITIES SPACE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION 

139-A McMurtrie Drive 

Huntsville, AL 35806 

December 8, 1987 
Introduction 

Universities Space Research Association (USRA) under Contract NAS8-34748 

has utilized a team of Visiting Scientists and consultants to undertake research 

activities. The following final report documents and summarizes the results of 

research efforts including conclusions and recommendations based on experience 

and results obtained as well as suggested applications for research products. 

The Visiting Scientists conducting research under this Contract were Dr. Philip 

Gillaspy, Dr. Richard Blakeslee, Dr. Steve Goodman and Mr. Dennis Beuchler. Mr. 

Robert A. Garst also performed research for a three month term as a research 

specialist. The research activities of Visiting Scientists and Consultants are 

summarized below. 

Summary of Research Efforts and Results 

During the contract period (1983-1987) USRA Research Associates published 

five journal articles and at the present time have three others in revision or 

review. Eighteen nonrefereed preprint papers or abstracts have also been 

published. The articles appear in journals or collections of papers published by the 

American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American 

Institute Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Institute of Electrical and 

Electronics Engineers. These studies support the design and eventual scientific use 

of NASA’s proposed lightning mapper sensor. 

In the last three years, USRA Research Associates have primarily focused on 

the unique information contained in the lightning measurement, which is 

independent of other meteorological measurements that can be made from space. 

Mr. Goodman published the first paper that quantified the characteristics of 

lightning activity in mesoscale convective systems (squall lines and mesoscale 

convective complexes) and found a strong relationship between lightning activity 

and surface rainfall. Goodman’s most recent paper shows that lightning provides a 

precursor signature for wet microbursts (the strong downdrafts that produce 

windshears hazardous to aircraft) and that the lightning signature is a direct 

consequence of storm evolution. 

USRA collaborated with NASA scientists in the preliminary analysis and 

scientific justification for the design and deployment of an optical instrument 

which can detect lightning from geostationary orbit, now entering its preliminary 

design phase for launch on GOES-NEXT in the mid-1990’s. 

During the contract period USRA personnel (Goodman) were called on to 

review science proposals for the NASA mesoscale science program (Code E) and for 

NASA’s Tethered Satellite System and to review NASA’s weather forecasting 

research and support programs associated with the processing, launch, and landing 

of manned and unmanned space vehicles (Code M). During the last year, Steve 

Goodman provided a weather analysis of the events leading up to the AC-67 

accident at Kennedy Space Center in March, 1987 and the Wallops Island accident 

in June of the same Year. 
1 I 

USRA installed, maintained, and operated the NASA lightning detection and 

location network during the contract period and developed a real-time lightning 

display system for operational and scientific use. An IBM-PC AT lightning display 

system is now in use by scientists in the MSFC Earth Science and Applications 

Division and by the Neutral Buoyancy Simulation Facility and test areas at 

NASA/MSFC. Software was written to ingest and analyze the lightning ground 

strike data on the MSFC McIDAS system. In addition, radar processing software 

has been written or modified to perform a NEXRAD (NEXt Generation weather 

RADar) analysis on the MSFC Perkin Elmer computer and radar data processing on 

the MSFC VAX or McIDAS systems. The lightning location system and McIDAS 

Processing System both are unique observing and data analysis systems with 

applications for correlating individual lightning events with other meteorological 

phenomena over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The capabilities 

which were developed here have a wide application to a number of problems 

associated with the operational impacts of electrical discharge within the 

atmosphere. 

Dr. Mike Stewart, Dr. John Latham, Mr. Rod Shelton, and Mr. Doug Forsyth 

have served the contract as consultants. They assisted in the design, checkout, and 

analysis of data from airborne and groundbased instrumentation used for scientific 

investigation (U2 optical sensors, atmospheric electricity instrumentation, and a 

charged-particle imaging spectrometer (CPIS); and provided scientific and 

programming consultation and assistance. 

Financial 

Total Contract Value: $620,989 

Total Cumulative Costs: $620,989 

Cost to Complete: 0 

Percentage of Physical 

completion of Contract: 100% 

The Contract is 100% complete and all funds have been expended. 
Christian, 

Vonnegut, 

derstorms 

H. J., R. L. Frost, P. H. Gillaspy, S. J. Goodman, 0. H. Vaughan, Jr., M. Brook, B. 

, and R. E. Orville. Observations of optical lightning emissions from above thunusing U-2 Aircraft, Bull. && Met. Soc,, 64, 120-123, 1983. 

Robertson, F. R., G. S. Wilson, H. J. Christian, S. J. Goodman, G. H. Fichtl, and W. W. 

Vaughan. Atmospheric science experiments applicable to space shuttle spacelab missions, Bull. 

S~C,, fi, 692-700, 1984. 

Rust, W. D., W. L. Taylor, D. R. MacGorman, E. Brandes, V. Mazur, R. Arnold, T. Marshall, 

H. J. Christian, and S. J. Goodman. Lightning and related phenomena in thunderstorms and 

squall lines, J. of ,a, 449-454, 1985. 

Goodman, S. J., and D. R. MacGorman. Cloud-to-ground lightning activity in mesoscale convective complexes, Mon. Wea. Re v,, 114, 2320-2328, 1986. 

Christian, H. J., and S. J. Goodman. Optical observations of lightning from a high altitude 

airplane, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech,, in press, December, 1987. 

Goodman, S. J., H. J. Christian, and W. D. Rust. Optical pulse characteristics of intracloud and 

cloud-to ground lightning observed from above clouds, J. Clim. ADDI. Met, , in revision, 1987. 

Goodman, S. J., D. E. Buechler, and M. E. Weber. Cloud-to-ground lightning activity associated with microburst producing storms, IEEE Trans. Aero. Elec,, to be submitted, 1987. 

Goodman, S. J. , D. E. Buechler, and P. J. Meyer. Convective tendency images derived from a 

combination of lightning and satellite data, Yeathe r and Forecasting, to be submitted, 1987. 

Nonrefereed Publications and Abstracts 

Goodman, S. J., and H. J. Christian, Airborne measurements of lightning generated optical 

emissions, Eps, 62, 889, 1982. 

Goodman, S. J., R. J. Doviak, and D. R. MacGorman, Lightning location in a severe Oklahoma thunderstorm, PreDrina, 12th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Am. Met. SOC., Boston, 

MA, 326-329, 1982. 

Goodman, S. J., and H. J. Christian, Simultaneous observations of lightning from above and 

below thunderstorms, m, @, 660, 1983. 

Goodman, S. J., Lightning activity associated with severe storms embedded within a mesoscale 

convective storm complex, premints, 13th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Am. Met. SOC., 29- 

32, 1983. 

Rust, W. D., W. L. Taylor, D. R. MacGorman, R. T. Arnold, S. J. Goodman, and V. Mazur, 

Storm electricity research in Oklahoma: an overview, PrePrinta, 8th International Aerospace 

and Ground Conf. on Lightning and Static Electricity, DOT/FAA/CT-83/25, 1-8, 1983. 

Goodman, S. J., H. J. Christian, W. D. Rust, D. R. MacGorman, and R. T. Arnold, Simultaneous observations of cloud-to-ground lightning above and below cloud tops, Preorints, 

VIIth International Conf. on Atmospheric Electricity, Am. Met. Soc., Boston, MA, 1984. 

Johnson, R. L., and S. J. Goodman, Atmospheric electrical activity associated with Hurricane 

Alicia, preDrim, VIIth International Conf. on Atmospheric Electricity, Am. Met. SOC., Boston, 

MA, 295-298, 1984. 
Christian, H. J., R. L. Frost, S. J. Goodman, The optical characteristics of lightning as 

measured from above cloud tops, PrebriptS, VIIth International Conf. on Atmospheric 

Electricity, Am. Met. Soc., Boston, MA, 468-471, 1984. 

Rut, W. D., W. L. Taylor, D. R. MacGorman, E. Brandes, V. Mazur, R. T. Arnold, T. Marshall, H. Christian, and s. J. Goodman, Lightning and related phenomena in thunderstorms 

and squall lines, AIAA 22nd Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, NV, 1984. 

Goodman, S. J., and D. R. MacGorman, A composite picture of lightning activity in mesoscale 

convective complexes, Eps, fi, 849, 1984. 

- .- 

Goodman, S. J., and D. E. Buechler, Buoyant energy and the production of lightning in convective storms, Eps, &, 841, 1985. 

Mobilia, J., H. D. Voss, W. L. Imhoff, and S. J. Goodman, Lightning observations from the 

SEEP/S%l-l satellite, Eps, &, 1001, 1985. 

Goodman, S. J., Real-time applications from remotely sensed lightning observations, preorints, - Conf. on Aerospace and Range Meteorology, Am. Met. Soc., Boston, MA, 11-16, 1985. 

m, 

Goodman, S. J., and D. R. MacGorman, Lightning Activity in mesoscale convective systems, 

14th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Am. Met. Soc., Boston, MA, 368-371, 1985. 

Rust, W. D., D. L. MacGorman, and S. J. Goodman, Unusual positive cloud-to-ground lightning in Oklahoma storms, prebru, 14th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Am. Met. Soc., Boston, 

MA, 372-375.1985. 

Buechler, D. E., and S. J. Goodman, Lightning measurements during the . 

COHMEX field experiment, Eps, 62, 886, 1986. 

Goodman, S. J., J. E. Arnold, and S. E. Williams, An overview of the Satellite Precipitation 

and Cloud Experiment (SPACE), Eps, fl, 88 1, 1986. 

Weber, M., E. Williams, and S. Goodman, 1987. Rapid update Doppler radar and electrical 

measurements of a microburst-producing thunderstorm, 6;ps, 68, 1987. 

Buechler, D. E., S. J. Goodman, and M. E. Weber. Cloud-to-ground lightning activity in 

microburst producing storms, FreDra, 15th Conf. on Severe Local Storms, Baltimore, MD, 

Am. Meteor. Soc., 1988. 

Goodman, S. J. , D. E. Buechler, and P. J. Meyer. Storm diagnostic/predictive imagery 

derived from a combination of lightning and satellite imagery, w, 3rd Conf. on Satellite 

Meteorology and Oceanography, Anaheim, CA, 1988.