ER-2 #809 10/30/15

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Aircraft: 
ER-2 - AFRC #809 (See full schedule)
Flight Number: 
16-9012
Payload Configuration: 
eMAS, AirMSPI-2, and AVIRIS instruments
Nav Data Collected: 
Yes
Total Flight Time: 
5.7 hours
Comments: 
Flight 16-9012 took off at 0936 local and landed at 1518 local (5.7 hours). The temperature at altitude fluctuated more than usual (+or- 3 deg) which made it difficult to use airspeed hold. Had to use Mach hold. Sky clear all day except near Red Bluff, OR. The pilot was Steele.
Submitted by: 
Kevin Walsh on 11/02/15
Flight Segments: 
From:PMDTo:PMD
Date:10/30/15
Flight Time:4.2 hours
Log Number:162020PI:Robert Green
Funding Source:Diane Wickland - NASA - SMD - ESD Terrestrial Ecology
Purpose of Flight:Science
Comments:AVIRIS successfully under-flew the Terra Satellite just off the coast near San Francisco over open water. Flew an AVIRIS line over Monterey Bay. Dean helped Denis out tremendously to navigate real-time updates to the flight plan.
From:PMDTo:PMD
Date:10/30/15
Flight Time:1 hours
Log Number:162019PI:Jeffrey Myers
Funding Source:Steven Platnick - NASA - SMD - ESD EOS Project Scientist
Purpose of Flight:Check
Comments:Flight 16-9012 successfully checked out the eMAS instrument. The goal for eMAS was to fly at altitude for a minimum of 4 hours to cold soak the instrument. From James Jacobson: Before flight today, the TRU lines were checked, and the .ini file was edited to give the system the correct default values for flight ops. First off, no issue today with resetting scan line count. (Yay!) Aircraft +28v voltage still dropped a bit into flight, but no where near as big a drop as last time. In terms of the qualitative video assessment, it looks like there is less 60/120 Hz influencing the data, and more high freq coherent noise . . . this however is probably more due to actually flying at 6.25 scans/sec than anything else. This High freq noise is most apparent over water targets. Overall, I think that it was a fairly successful mission today.
From:PMDTo:PMD
Date:10/30/15
Flight Time:0.5 hours
Log Number:162022PI:David Diner
Funding Source:Jack Kaye - NASA - SMD - ESD Director Research and Analysis
Purpose of Flight:Check
Comments:For AirMSPI-2, the N3 and N5 switches were swapped at the EIP. Fortunately, using the INMARSAT, the AirMSPI-2 team quickly determined that the switches were swapped. From Dave Diner: I’m very pleased to report that AirMSPI-2 had a successful test flight on Friday, October 30. This was a 5.7 hour flight, and AirMSPI-2 collected more than 15 data runs throughout the entire flight, both in step-and-stare and sweep modes. The attached slide shows a set of monochrome quicklooks (uncalibrated, non-georectified) over Northern California. The two images at left are 645 nm intensity derived from the two polarimetric channels at this wavelength (they look similar, as expected), and the image at the right is degree of linear polarization (DOLP). The horizontal banding in the lower part of the DOLP images is possibly due to a mismatch between the polarization modulation function used to analyze the data and the actual one that occurred in flight. More sophisticated data reduction to eliminate this and other calibration-related artifacts will require implementation of ground processing software and test procedures that are still in the process of being adapted from AirMSPI-1. Quantitative analysis of the multispectral imagery, including contrast, signal levels, SNR, and spatial resolution require further investigation of the larger set of data acquired during the flight. Data export from the flight disk packs is a lengthy process at this time since we haven’t yet had the chance to put in place the software needed for routine and more rapid download, as is done with AirMSPI-1. Preliminary perusal of the full set of quicklooks from the flight is expected to take place over the next several days. Initial indications are that the thermal control system and gimbal system also functioned well. We are still experiencing difficulties in maintaining the high vacuum levels for long durations, as needed for SWIR operation in flight. As reported previously we attribute this to outgassing of components inside the vacuum vessel. It is likely that a higher capacity getter will help significantly, but replacement is not possible until after the instrument returns to JPL. I want to thank the AirMSPI-2 team, the AFRC crew, as well as Rose Dominguez from eMAS for their support. Friday’s flight was a major milestone in our MSPI technology development effort."
Flight Hour Summary: 
142019152015162020172033
Flight Hours Approved in SOFRS1130
Flight Hours Previously Approved 3.228.414.7
Total Used7.84.813.70.5
Total Remaining   14.2
172033 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
04/06/1717-9023Check0.50.514.2
162020 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
10/30/1516-9010Check1.91.926.5
10/30/1516-9012Science4.26.122.3
01/12/1616-9031Science3.29.319.1
01/14/1616-9035Science2.411.716.7
02/09/1616-9039Science213.714.7
152015 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
11/07/1415-6004Science3330.2
04/21/1515-9034Check1.84.828.4
142019 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
08/18/14 - 08/19/1414-9038Science7.87.83.2

132013142012152014162019172029
Flight Hours Approved in SOFRS255.1
Flight Hours Previously Approved 252721.515.1
Total Used03.15.56.40
Total Remaining    15.1
162019 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
10/28/1516-9011Check1120.5
10/30/1516-9012Check1219.5
06/29/1616-9042Check4.46.415.1
152014 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
04/15/1515-6025Check3324
04/22/1515-6026Check2.55.521.5
142012 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
10/24/1314-6004Science2228.1
03/31/1414-6029Science1.13.127

152025162022172034
Flight Hours Approved in SOFRS6
Flight Hours Previously Approved 61.9
Total Used04.10
Total Remaining  1.9
162022 Flight Reports
Date Flt # Purpose of Flight Duration Running Total Hours Remaining Miles Flown
10/30/1516-9012Check0.50.55.5
11/02/1516-9011Check0.91.44.6
02/05/1616-9038Science2.74.11.9

Flight Reports began being entered into this system as of 2012 flights. If there were flights flown under an earlier log number the flight reports are not available online.