An Airborne Meteorological Data Collection System Using Satellite Relay (ASDAR)

Abstract

The Aircraft to Satellite Data Relay (ASDAR) project was begun in 1975 as a joint NASA/NOAA program to provide an improved source of meteorological data for weather forecasting. The initiative for starting the project came from a recognition that much of our weather originates in the data sparse areas of the tropics and Southern Hemisphere. It was further recognized that these areas are frequently crossed by many of the modern, wide-body jet aircraft of the B-747, DC-10 type. These aircraft contain navigation and data systems capable of providing the following data: latitude, longitude, altitude, wind speed, wind direction, and outside air temperature. The ASDAR system consists of a data acquisition and control unit to acquire, store, and format this data; a transmitter to relay the formatted data via satellite to the ground; and a clock to time the data sampling and transmission periods. In cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the data is relayed to the ground via their Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series and then to the National Meteorological Center (NMC) to aid in weather forecasting.