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A Low-Cost Automated Radiosonde Launch System--Yankee Environmental Systems, 55833-99-II Inc., 101 Industrial Boulevard, Turners Falls, MA 01376-1608; 413-863-0200
Mr. William M. Stein, Principal Investigator
Ms. Cynthia A. Cote, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-99ER82920
Amount: $750,000
Recent concern over widespread global warning has highlighted the need for improving upper atmospheric measurements of temperature, humidity, and winds. These measurements are required daily at hundreds of locations around the world and are primarily made by radiosondes that are carried aloft by balloons and tracked by ground stations. Currently, radiosonde setup and launch is performed manually by trained operators. Also, no mechanism exists to auto-calibrate the radiosondes just prior to launch, resulting in insufficiently precise data. Although one commercially available automated launch system does exist, its $350,000 price makes it impractical for most programs. This project will develop a low cost automated radiosonde launch system that is robust and fault-tolerant. Once loaded, for each cycle it will automatically: (1) power up a radiosonde; (2) check the radio frequency link; (3) start data acquisition; (4) perform a calibration of the radiosonde temperature and humidity signals; (5) inflate a balloon and verify inflation; (6) release the balloon; (7) verify that the payload is successfully away; (8) continuously capture data for duration of flight; (9) transfer data to a central data archive; and (10) return to an idle state and prepare for the next launch. In Phase I, a preliminary system was prototyped and tested outdoors, validating specifications for the launcher and key components. The Phase II project will complete a detailed engineering system design for a field-ready automated launch system. Three levels of engineering prototypes will be developed and tested with particular emphasis on system reliability, especially under high wind conditions. The goal is to be able to automatically precalibrate and launch anywhere from 8 to 24 radiosondes without human intervention.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should be applicable to weather forecasting and climate monitoring programs, as well for climate change research. The worldwide market for such systems is roughly $30-50 million. It should provide a significant improvements in radiosonde launch capability for programs such as DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program, various NASA programs, and the National Weather Service.