Overview of the NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS ) Program

1. Overview of the NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program Robbie Hood, Director NOAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program 25 September 2012

2. NOAA and NASA Manned and Unmanned Flight Capabilities • Fuel consumption (gph) for nominal mission 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 ER-2 Global Hawk Manned Aircraft HALE 70 WB-57 Gulfstream 18 DC-8 444 Turbo Commander Altitude (kft) 1750 IKHANA UAS Gray Eagle MALE King Air 740 WP-3D 75 Twin Otter Arcturus T-20 Shadow 200 0.2 LASE 0.3 ScanEagle Viking 400 Resolution Aerosonde 0 (battery) Manta LALE Puma AE md4-1000 APQ-16 Duration (hrs)

3. 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

4. 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 Bering Sea Ice Seal Study - 2009 Greenland Glacier Study - 2008 Images courtesy of Greg Walker, University of Alaska - Fairbanks Images courtesy of James Maslanik, University of Colorado

5. NMFS uses two types of aircraft survey protocols for marine mammals Evaluated ScanEagle in 2009 Planning to evaluate in 2014 Evaluated hexacopter in Antarctica in 2011. Evaluated Puma and quadcopter in 2012. • 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

6. 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)

7. 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 dropsondedeployment, 177sondes total 7

8. Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) Experiment A partnership between NASA , NOAA, and Northrop Grumman • 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.

9. NCAR/NOAA GH Dropsonde System Dropsonde System Launch Tube Dropsonde System Electronics Dropsonde Launch Assembly

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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

13. Five HS3 Flights

14. 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)