Flight # 2067

Date:

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Flight Summary:

Flight Time: 15:17 UTC -20:07 UTC
Data Time: 15:22 UTC -20:06 UTC
Aircraft Type: NRL P-3
Flight Scientist: Dr. Charles K. Gatebe
Flight Number: 2067
Mission Location: Colorado Springs, CO.
Lat/Lon Coverage: 40.0919° N 37.7500°S -104.664°E -108.300°W

Mission:

SnowEx

Flight Track Map:

KMZ File:

CAR2067.kml

MODIS-Aqua/Terra Satellite Animation:

MODIS Morning Image:

terra_2067.jpg

MODIS Afternoon Image:

aqua_2067.jpg

GOES-12 Satellite Image:

CAR QuickLook Imagery:

Flight Mission Details:

This was the fifth and the last Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) P-3B science flight out of Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Colorado Springs (KCOS), Colorado. The aircraft took measurements over Grand Mesa and Senator Beck under mostly cloudy conditions. Key instruments include:

• Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR from NASA/GSFC) for Bidirectional Reflectance Function (BRDF) measurements
•   SnowSAR (Snow Synthetic Aperture radar) - a dual frequency (X- and Ku-band) from MetaSensing, Netherlands -  Radar (volume scattering).
•   Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) infrared imaging camera system from NASA/GSFC - records IR images of target sources in the 8-10 µm band.
•   Thermal infrared non-imager from U. Washington, Seattle. Has IR sensitivity in the 8-14 µm range.
•   Video camera from GSFC

Flight Path, Timing, and Measurements:

Approximate time in UTC (Colorado, -7 hours). Activities during CAR flight 2067 on February 22, 2017 out of Peterson Air Force Base (AFB) Airport. Observations by CAR operator Rajesh Poudyal, and Kurt Rush, CAR engineer.

14:23 Navigation power, Computer, CANS started
15:22 CAR on door open
15:24 Starboard mode, auto roll correction on
15:29 Clear condition, clouds over mountain
15:31 Imaging mode
15:32 FW cryopump on, over Chatfield, CO
15:34 Over front range mountains
15:40 clouds in the sky, starboard mode. FW looks good.
15:47 Over Fraser forest
15:52 Inside cloud, end of Fraser line
15:59 flying below clouds
16:16 all cloudy above, some clouds below16:30 flying under clouds, going towards Grand Mesa
16:32 inside cloud
16:34 over cloud
17:05 going to senator beck, clouds above
17:14 Senator beck lines
17:19 fw @1.6
17:37 lines over Senator beck, cloudy above
17:51 fw 1.75
18:13 fw 2.318:21 fw 2.1
19:22 CAR BRDF circle 1
19:26 CAR BRDF circle 2
19:31 CAR BRDF circle 3
19:36 Spiral up
19:52 Heading back to the base
20:05 Scanning sky
20:06 door close
20:07 land