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Volpe Center Highlights - October 1999

Focus

Director's Notes | Focus | Safety | Mobility | Human and Natural Environment |
Economic Growth and Trade | National Security

Flying Over the Eye of the Hurricane: NASA Uses DOT Traffic Management System to Collect Data on Hurricane Floyd (FAA) (NASA)

Recently the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found a novel application of the data compiled by the Volpe Center's Traffic Management System (TMS).

Airplane Image on the TMS Display Screen

On the morning of September 15, a NASA B57 aircraft equipped for environmental research with 41 atmospheric sensors flew at 60,000 feet directly over the eye of Hurricane Floyd. This was the first time an environmental science aircraft of this type had ever overflown a hurricane and provided NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) B57 Command Center in Houston with images and information in near real-time.

The Command Center loses communication with an aircraft when it exceeds the range of VHF radio (approximately 120 nautical miles); command center personnel are usually unaware of what has occurred until the B57 lands. That is, any modification to the flight path to pick up particular readings or to avoid plumes from other jets is impossible.

On this flight, hurricane rain and wind patterns, position and flight path of the NASA B57, and information about other aircraft in the vicinity were gathered from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar and other sources. This information was compiled at the TMS Hubsite at the Volpe Center and then transmitted over secure lines to the NASA's Ames Research Center (NASA Ames) in California where researchers used the TMS to image the specific area of Hurricane Floyd and the NASA B57. That image was then transferred to tape, and the tape was transmitted to the NASA/JSC Command Center.

The Volpe Center has been working with the FAA and NASA Ames to provide a "feed" of TMS data to the research community at NASA Ames. TMS is the real-time, operational computer system developed by the Volpe Center that the FAA uses to predict, detect, and otherwise handle airspace congestion problems. NASA funds a feed that supports research into air traffic control and aircraft safety projects.

Results are not yet available but investigators are optimistic that many of the questions concerning the dynamics of tropical storms and aerosol (e.g., pollutant) dispersion and its effect on the atmosphere may be answered once the data gathered on this unique flight are analyzed.

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