Overview of a JointAgency

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Overview of a Joint-Agency UAS Mission in the
NAS 2007 Western States UAS Fire Mission
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2007 Western States Fire Mission Objectives

• Demonstrate capabilities of UAS to overfly and
  collect sensor data on widespread fires
  throughout Western US.
• Demonstrate long-endurance mission capabilities
  (20-hours).
• Image multiple fires (greater than 4 fires per
  mission), to showcase extendable mission
  configuration and ability to either linger over
  key fires or station over disparate regional
  fires.
• Demonstrate new UAV-compatible, autonomous sensor
  for improved thermal characterization of fires.
• Provide automated, on-board, terrain and
  geo-rectified sensor imagery over OTH satcom
  links to national fire personnel and Incident
  commanders.
• Deliver real-time imagery (within 10-minutes of
  acquisition).
• Demonstrate capabilities of OTS technologies
  (GoogleEarth) to serve and display
  mission-critical sensor data, coincident with
  other pertinent data elements to facilitate
  information processing (WX data, ground asset
  data, other satellite data, R/T video, flight
  track info, etc).

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The Road There
Aircraft ordered 4/05
Delivered 11/06
GCS Delivered 12/06
Fire Payload Integrated 6/07
2006
2007
2005
COA Issued
Western States Fire Mission
Crew Training
Ground Station Modifications
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The Road There

• NASA Safety Requirements
• Red and yellow keep out zones
• Aircraft Flight Safety Review Board
• COA Request and Coordination
• FAA / NASA meeting at LA Center
• Zones
• Backbone vs point to point flight planning
• Ikhana navigation capability in the NAS
• RVSM altitudes
• RAIM prediction
• Emergency landing site planning
• Increased battery reserve
• Flight below class A airspace

5
The Road There
OPERATIONAL ZONES
ZONE A
ZONE B
ZONE C
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The Road There
KEEP-OUT ZONES
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The Road There
BACK-BONE ROUTES
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The Road There
PRIMARY EMERGENCY LANDING SITES R400 NM
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The Road There
Avionics Bay 14 Batteries give gt3 hours of
emergency power
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The Road There
SECONDARY EMERGENCY LANDING SITES R50 NM
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The Road There

• COA Special Provisions
• Remain within 75nm of backbone route
• Point to point flight plan
• 3 business day mission notification to FAA
• 3 ARTCC limit per flight
• no flight in to forecasted moderate or severe
  turbulence
• no flight in area where convective SIGMET has
  been issued
• no flight in area of know or forecast icing
• lost link procedure continue on route for 15nm
• no flight in area of affected by GPS testing,
  solar storms or RAIM outages

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The Road There
13
In The Trenches

• C-band frequency access
• All local line-of-sight spectrum controlled by
  Air Force
• GPS jamming
• China Lake NWC Nellis AFB jamming up to 280 nmi
• Emergency landing site permission
• Weather
• Wind
• Clouds
• Icing
• Thunderstorms
• Airfield Operations
• First 3 Predator flights required closure of all
  taxiways
• Long duration missions may require airfield use
  outside normal duty hours

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Domke Lake
Big Bend
GW
Colby
3rd Fire Mission 9/7/07 20 hours 3200 nmi
Moonlight
Yosemite
1st Fire Mission 8/16/07 9.5 hours 1400 nmi
Lick
Middle T
Tar
Grouse
Zaca
Zaca
North
Fairmont
WH Complex
Castle Rock
Columbine
Trapper Ridge
Moonlight
4th Fire Mission 9/27/07 10 hours 1800 nmi
Lick
2nd Fire Mission 8/29/07 16.1 hours 2500 nmi
Grouse
Butler
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Looking Back

• All WSFM objectives were achieved
• Coordination with Air Traffic Control was
  excellent
• Postflight telecons held with air traffic control
  centers
• No issues identified on any of the missions
• Ikhana requests to ATC
• Real-time reroute around Sigmet approved
• Altitude changes due to weather approved
• Extension of time to image at fires approved
• ATC requests to Ikhana
• Altitude changes due to traffic
• Change heading and/or orbit for traffic (few)
• Change frequencies/squawk codes
• Mission plan to avoid approach corridor during
  peak activity (once)
• Aircraft, ground station, fire sensor system
  performed very well
• Staffing for HALE missions
• Flight crews require adherence to crew duty day
  requirements

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Questions?
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Wildfire Research and Applications Partnership
(WRAP)

• Purpose 5-yr Partnership with USDA-Forest
  Service to improve tactical fire observations,
  models, communications, and platform capabilities
  using NASA-derived / developed science RD,
  technology elements.
• User group USDA-Forest Service, Remote Sensing
  Applications Center (RSAC) and the National
  Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
• Expected benefit
• Reduce time variable in fire product delivery to
  Incident Command
• Demonstrate UAV technologies for fire missions
  leading to acquisition by USFS
• Increase spectral discriminators for fire
  condition classes with improved imaging
  capabilities
• Demonstrate integration of SRTM seamless data to
  improve geo-correction of sub-orbital data sets.