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Proposed Flight Plans
Summary of Altair Flight Plans 1
Flight
Description
Approx.
Duration
Specifications
Integration test flights
22 hrs
Goals: Functional test of all sensor systems.
Location: Restricted air space over Gray Butte and Edwards AFB
Channel Islands Survey/OC Spiral
6 hrs
Goals: Attempt to duplicate or exceed survey accuracy of manned missions. Evaluate the utility of UAVs as platforms for marine enforcement surveillance. Perform OC sensor calibration profile.
Location: The airspace above and around the CINMS, with preference to the four northern Channel Islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel.)
Channel Islands Survey/Day-Night
4 hrs
Goals: Record fishing and boat activity during daylight and nighttime hours. Identify and record general vessel activity within CINMS and evaluate the EO/IR's ability to identify fishing activity and marine mammals.
Location: Location will focus on the four northern Channel Islands and Santa Barbara Channel. (Exact geographic areas to be determined by daily fishing and shipping activity.)
Sounding Curtain/ Atmospheric Chemistry
6 hrs
Goals: Retrieve vertical profiles of temperature and water vapor between radiosonde launch locations. Sample the tropopause region.
Location: Near the Channel Islands off the coast of California.
Cross-Tropopause Sampling
12.5 hrs
Goals: Use the GC/OZ instrument to sample polar air masses and to demonstrate the potential of validating Aura satellite retrievals and estimating the age of air in the lowermost stratosphere.
Location: Up to 400 nm off the California Coast.
Atmospheric River Sampling
21 hrs
Goals: Profile along and across an atmospheric river approaching the California coast. Sample tropopause region.
Location: Up to 1000 nm off the California Coast.
Ocean Color Profile/Trinidad Head Profile
11 hrs
Goals : Perform vertical profiles over blue ocean and near Trinidad Head Observatory.
Location: Up to 200 nm off the California coast.
1The actual Altair mission flights will have a total duration of 53 hours. These flight plans include those features deemed necessary to meet the list of mission objectives. Actual flight plans will be modified to take into account meteorological and other conditions on the day of flight.