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BAE SYSTEMS atmospheric infrared sounder to significantly enhance weather forecasting

09 May 2002

BAE Systems Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), built by the IR Imaging Systems (IRIS), Lexington, Massachusetts, was successfully launched May 4 onboard NASA's Aqua Spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

AIRS is the result of more than ten years of research and development by IRIS under contract and in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Data from the AIRS instrument is expected to significantly improve weather forecasts. The National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and scientists around the world will use data collected by AIRS to better understand the Earth's climate, and to improve the accuracy of their weather and climate models.

The new NASA instrument will make very accurate measurements of air temperature and humidity on a global scale. It is a key part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), designed to study the planet's health and man's impact on it. The EOS research program consists of a series of satellites that monitor global environmental changes, of which Aqua is the second. The first satellite was launched in 1999; the last is planned for launch around 2004. The three large satellites carry multiple instruments to help researchers study broad components of the Earth's climate system. Aqua's mission focuses on improving weather prediction and better understanding the global water cycle and climate change.

AIRS is a high resolution spectrometer that measures temperature and humidity by viewing the heat signature of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere underneath the satellite's orbital path.

According to Paul Morse, IRIS Director of Engineering, AIRS will make weather balloon-quality measurements of temperature and humidity twice daily over the entire globe. "It's the equivalent of launching more than 300,000 weather balloons each day. This is a thousand-fold increase in information available to computer models and it's expected to lead to substantial improvement in mid- and long-range weather prediction," Morse said.

The AIRS instrument represents a major advance in space-based remote sensing. The 390-pound desk-sized instrument views the air column below it with more than 2,400 sensors, each tuned to observe a different color in the infrared spectrum. Much of the instrument is cooled to -180F, and certain parts are cooled down to -355F to achieve the high measurement sensitivity required. AIRS has more than 40,000 parts and is designed to function for up to six years in space. It operates on only 190 watts of power.

AIRS was first conceived more than 20 years ago, before the technology was available to create such an instrument. Advancements in infrared detectors, low-temperature coolers, and space qualified electronics allowed BAE Systems engineers and scientists to turn the idea into reality for NASA. "AIRS is a world-class instrument built by a world-class team. We have well over one million work hours invested in the development of this instrument, and the feeling that comes from doing what some said couldn't be done makes us all very proudit was challenging and it was fun," Morse said.

The AIRS worldwide science team will next begin to analyze the data the instrument collects. Dr. Moustafa Chahine, AIRS Science Team leader and senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, "The AIRS instrument will have a profound impact on weather forecasting for everyone. And with accurate seasonal rain prediction, we can predict and manage our water resources better, even before the rain hits the ground."

In a note of appreciation to the AIRS team at BAE Systems, Dr. Chahine wrote: "AIRS is like a great violin, a Stradivarius. It is a joy to have ityou have made my dream of twenty years and that of my colleagues finally come true."

The IRIS facility in Lexington is part of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) unit, headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire.