Understanding and Protecting Our Home Planet

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Engineering Challenges - UAS Payloads
Susan Schoenung, Longitude 122 West, Inc. Steve
Wegener, Bay Area Environmental Research
Institute Matt Fladeland, NASA Ames Research
Center and many others
CU UAS Symposium 1-3 October, 2007 Boulder,
Colorado
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UAS Science Payload Types

• Remote sensing
• Active
• Passive
• In situ sampling
• Electric fields
• Sondes
• Communications

APV-3
Scan Eagle
Radstar
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UAS Payload Challenges

• Technical
• Unattended operation
• Long duration
• Environment
• Interfaces
• Space / Weight / Access / Packaging
• Data acquisition, processing, and delivery
• Sensor performance
• Cost (build or procure, development)
• Other portability, risk, ITAR, etc.

Aerosonde

Aerosonde with spectrometer
UAV SAR Pod
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Unattended in Flight
Pathfinder Plus
Altair

• Autonomous operation
• Remotely monitored
• Remotely operated -
• send signals to operate
• On / off
• Take data / send data
• Reconfigure (sample rate, zoom)
• Calibrate
• Trouble-shoot
• Payload-directed flight

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Long Duration Flight

• Thermal control
• Managing /eliminating consumables
• Calibration gases
• Cryogenic cooling
• Batteries
• Sondes
• Data storage
• On-board capacity
• Down-load bandwidth

NOAA Gas Chromatograph
Altus with satcom
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Fire Sensor Development
AMS packaged for Altair/Ikhana pod Stirling
coolers
AIRDAS packaged for ALTUS nose LN cooling
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Environmental Operating Conditions
Altus at Key West

• Uncontrolled payload bays
• Variable temperature high on the ground, low at
  altitude
• Variable pressure
• Moisture
• Weather
• Vibration
• EMI

ACES Payload
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Interfaces

• Power
• Communication with aircraft
• Aircraft position, attitude, state data
• Satcom link
• Avionics
• On-board data systems
• With other instruments, as needed
• Standardization progressing

ARM UAV Payload
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Space / Packaging Issues

• Weight
• Volume
• Shape
• Sonde launchers
• Antennas
• Sensor access
• Inlets for free-stream air
• Ports, windows - up and down-looking
• Gimbal for target lock
• Maintenance

• Drives Miniaturization
• Pods and Pallets

Microwave Temperature Profiler
Sunphotometer
UAV ARM
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Miniaturization - Payloads developed for MAC
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Miniaturization
Sunphotometer
Miniaturized L-Band Radiometer 100 meter
Resolution Goal Salinity, Soil Moisture, Snow,
Ice 12 lb Operating Weight
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Pods (1) UAV SAR
First unfocused radar image from flight on
8/18/07, the G-III 100th DFRC flight
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Pods (2) Western States Fire Mission
Ikhana
Altair
Autonomous Modular Sensor ARGUS UCATS air
samplers
Autonomous Modular Sensor
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Pods (3) Integration and Testing

• Aero analysis for stability and control and for
  aero loads
• Static structures for the pod, attachment
  structure, and aircraft structure
• Structural dynamics (flutter)
• Weight and balance
• Wiring to pod (networks, power, GPS antenna,
  etc..)

Vibration testing
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Data Processing and Delivery Payload Computer
Telemetry Link Module

• Universal Interface for science payloads to broad
  band telemetry systems (Ku, S, C, L)
• Inputs for gt20 instruments using standard
  protocols
• 40 Mbs max. throughput (link speed limited)
• Experimenter CPU mass storage for science data
  reduction recording
• Real-time on-board generation of Level-1 2
  geophysical products
• Interfaces to ground-based Collaborative Decision
  Sensor Web Environment
• Stand-alone packaging for Ikhana/Altair

AMS Data System
Link Module
Airborne Science and Technology Lab Ames Research
Center
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Complete Payload Package Western States Fire

• Autonomous Modular Sensor (IR imager)
• On-board processing
• Ku-band Satcom link
• Internet data access
• Mulit-layer Visualization in Google Earth
  (Collaborative Decision Environment)
• Live video feed
• Fire Command user at Center and on the ground
• Satellite overpass coordination (MODIS)
• Communication with FAA

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UAS Fire Sensor Web Workflow
Sullivan/AMES
Kolitz, Abramson/Draper
Tasking message to EO1 SPS
Web Coverage Service (WCS)
Web Map Service (WMS)
OASIS CAP 1.1 Notifications over SMTP
GoogleEarth Service
Updated flight plan
Event Notification Service
Sensor Planning Service (SPS)
Global cloud predicts
Ambrosia, Sullivan/AMES
Level 1G Terrain Corrected and Georectified
GeoTiff 1-3 bands
KML Files (PNG Graphics)
Sullivan/AMES
Air Force Weather Agency Global Cloud Predictions
Kolitz, Abramson/Draper
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User-friendly Desktop Internet GIS (Udig)
Google Earth
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Communication Payloads
Firefighters in area out of radio contact with
Incident Command Base
NASA-ARC / UAV Collaborative APV-3 with Com
Payload
Future - satellite surrogate
Payload designed and constructed by J. Eilers and
S. Dunagan (NASA-ARC)
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Payload-driven Flight Repeat Path Interferometry
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Sensor Performance

• High resolution
• Visible, IR, hyperspectral
• Day / night

• Zoom in / out
• Lock-on target

MLB Bat tracks vehicles,fire
High Resolution Imagery
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UAS payloads / missions - upcoming

• Cloud physics lidar - GH, Ikhana
• MTP probe - GH
• Aerosonde arctic mission
• UAV SAR - transfer to Ikhana
• AMS for fire, ocean color, vegetation, atm
  chemistry
• Sierra for carbon flux studies
• Advanced hyperspectral imager

CPL
MTP
Sierra
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UAS Payload Costs / Funding

• Instrument Incubator Program (Satellite
  precursors)
• Small business innovative research (SBIR)
• Innovative partnerships / seed funding
• Science programs (occasionally)

Investments in payload miniaturization can reduce
costs of platform
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IIP Instruments
GOLD
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Concluding Thoughts

• Payload planning not done in isolation must
  consider not only UA, but also interfaces data,
  communications, navigation, sensor web
• Developments, especially miniaturization, is
  happening so fast, need to keep on top of things
• The path forward includes NASA opportunities,
  along with other sources

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• Thank You!
• Contacts
• Susan Schoenung schoenung_at_aol.com
• Steve Wegener swegener_at_mail.arc.nasa.gov
• Matt Fladeland mfladeland_at_arc.nasa.gov