Remote-Controlled Aircraft Work Hard for Science

Filed under STEM, Technology by on November 29, 2012 at 7:30 am {no comments}

Remote sensing technologies on airborne scientific missions have added new depth and dimension to scientific observation. Yet they come at a cost – literally. Flying data-gathering missions for scientists, land managers, and hazard-mitigation agencies can cost upward of $30,000 an hour.

The U.S. Geological Survey is leading a federal initiative to make this high-quality science less costly, more accessible, and more environmentally friendly by using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) developed for the U.S. military to survey remote areas, monitor wildlife populations, and gather data on potential hazards on federal lands throughout the United States.

Lance Brady of the US Bureau of Land Management launches a USGS Raven aircraft June 21, 2012 at Glines Dam/Lake Mills on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Wash. Dr. Doug Clark of the Bureau of Reclamation, in background, looks on. USGS, Reclamation, BLM and other agencies are cooperating on science missions to study hydrology, sedimentation, revegetation and other issues relating to the removal of two dams on the Elwha.

The science missions yield peaceful civilian uses for past-generation military technology. A roadmap adopted by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 2010 tasks the USGS with developing certification, pilot training and proof-of-concept UAS missions through 2014 for its own USGS science centers and on behalf of federal agencies including the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR),  Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Forest Service. DOI’s Office of Aviation Services (OAS) is charged with developing aircraft airworthiness and operator certification, including training.

USGS scientists and pilots are now monitoring feral animals and invasive vegetation in Hawaii,shoreline erosion on the Missouri River on behalf of the Lower Brule Sioux people in South Dakota, spotting underground mine fires in West Virginia, and tracking the population density of sandhill cranes in Colorado. The missions save several thousands of dollars over equivalent human missions and are far safer than low-flying conventional aircraft.

Based in Denver, the USGS Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office has conducted missions all over the United States. The planes and their operators are subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and DOIOAS rules and regulations.

“The best pilots are the ones who grew up playing video games,” says UAS project manager Mike Hutt.

(more…)

Miniaturized Atomic Clock – The Next GPS?

Filed under STEM, Technology by on October 25, 2012 at 7:33 am {no comments}

The Chip Scale Atomic Clock will support efforts to provide highly accurate location and battlefield situational awareness for the dismounted Soldier, even in the temporary absence of GPS capability. (U.S. Army photo by Edric Thompson)

The U.S. Army has begun the final phase for manufacturing a microchip-sized prototype that will support efforts to provide highly accurate location and battlefield situational awareness for the dismounted soldier, even in the temporary absence of GPS capability.

The U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s communications-electronics RD&E center, CERDEC, hosted Phase II kickoff meetings for manufacturing prototype units of a Chip Scale Atomic Clock, or CSAC.

The goal is to provide complete atomic clock capabilities for weapons, weapon systems and the dismounted soldier, and to do this with low power and drastically reduced cost, noted John Del Colliano, chief for the Positioning, Navigation and Timing branch of CERDEC’s Command, Power & Integration directorate.

“An atomic clock, which is recognized for its accuracy, is used by the military in larger systems; however, the typical atomic clock is large, heavy and requires lots of power. Large systems/platforms like bombers have the advantage of having more power and space to accommodate a full-scale atomic clock, but that’s not true for a soldier on the battlefield or for munitions being fired,” Del Colliano said.

(more…)

Look Ma, Unmanned!

Filed under STEM, Technology by on July 18, 2012 at 7:31 am {no comments}

Two unmanned aircraft system operators fly a UAS during one of the synthetic flight vignettes using replicated airspace and environment from Cherry Point, N.C. On the left is an Aircraft Operator and on the right is the Ground Based Sense and Avoid System Operator. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Army)

By March 2014, the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, an Army unmanned aerial system, or UAS, will be able to train in the same airspace as the Boeing 747, with the help of the Army-developed Ground Based Sense and Avoid system.

The Army recently concluded a two-week demonstration of the Ground Based Sense and Avoid system, or GBSAA, at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. During the demonstration, the Army put the system through multiple training “vignettes” that validated both the design and functionality of the system.

“We are ready to begin the certification process in order to be fielding in March 2014, for the Gray Eagle locations,” said Viva Austin, product director for the Army’s Unmanned Systems Airspace Integration.

The five locations for Gray Eagle basing and training include Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Riley, Kan.; Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Fort Bragg, N.C. It’s expected the first system will field in March 2014 at Fort Hood.  About three months later, the system should field to Fort Riley.  All five sites should be equipped with the GBSAA system by 2015, officials said.

The GBSAA is a radar and warning system designed to allow soldiers to fly unmanned aerial systems, like the Gray Eagle, inside the National Air Space, while still meeting Federal Aviation Administration regulations. The system monitors location and altitude of the UAS and other aircraft, detects possible collisions, and makes recommendations to UAS operators on how to avoid those collisions.

(more…)

An Engine Of Ice and Fire

Filed under Energy, Technology by on April 25, 2012 at 7:06 am {one comment}

Preps Continue for Launching Engine Icing Research

Polar opposites attract in the puzzling case of ice crystal engine icing, where the frozen crystals can be ingested into the core of a jet engine. (Image credit: NASA/Eric Mindek)

NASA scientists are making progress in their preparations to mount a detailed research campaign aimed at solving a modern-day aviation mystery involving the unlikely combination of fire and ice inside a running jet engine.

The investigation deals with the seemingly strange notion that ice crystals associated with warm-weather storms can be ingested into the core of a jet engine, melt and then re-freeze, potentially causing the engine to lose power or shut down altogether. Safety officials have documented more than 150 incidents of this phenomenon since 1988. Most of the incidents have occurred in the tropics.

“It doesn’t seem intuitive that ice can form in the core of a warm engine,” said Ron Colantonio, manager of the Atmospheric Environment Safety Technologies Project at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

So in order to make sense of the mystery, NASA and its research partners are planning to gather information by flying a specially-outfitted business jet in high-altitude, warm-weather conditions suspected of having a large amount of ice crystals.

Technicians in California are currently modifying a Gulfstream G2 airplane to hold a suite of meteorological instruments, with hopes of having everything ready for initial trial runs of the full setup in Florida this August.

The research team then will take the lessons learned from their trial runs, make appropriate changes and prepare for the primary campaign, which is now targeted between January and March, 2013. These flights will take place over Darwin, Australia, an area known for having the type of storms that include high levels of ice crystals.

(more…)

Connect to Facebook
Facebook		 Connect on Twitter
Twitter		 Email
Email		 Subscribe to Blog Posts
Blog		 Youtube
Youtube

Facebook

Archives