NH028-0002
DOE ARM User Facility ArcticShark Unmanned Aerial System

Monday, 14 December 2020
Poster
Beat Schmid1, Fan Mei1, Peter Carroll1, Matt K Newburn2, James Howard Mather II3, Carl Engelbert4 and Brian Hazlett5, (1)Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States, (2)Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Richland, WA, United States, (3)PNNL, Richland, WA, United States, (4)Navmar Science Corporation, Warminster, PA, United States, (5)Navmar Science Corporation, Warminster, United States
Abstract:
The TigerShark Block 3 XP-AR “ArcticShark” Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), developed and manufactured by Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (NASC), is a single-prop, 60 hp rotary-engine powered platform with a wingspan of 6.5 m and a Maximum Gross Takeoff Weight of 295 Kg.

The ArcticShark is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and has been operated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) since March 2017 and is being developed into an airborne atmospheric research observatory for DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. Once fully operational, it can be requested through ARM’s annual call for proposals.

The ArcticShark is anticipated to measure a wide range of atmospheric and surface properties using a variable instrument payload weighing up to 46 Kg. It is capable of taking measurements up to altitudes of 5.5 Km over ranges of up to 500 Km (if controlled via SATCOM). The ArcticShark operates at a typical airspeed of 30 m/s, making it capable of slow sampling. With a full fuel load, its endurance exceeds 8 hours. The aircraft and its Mobile Operations Center (MOC) have been hardened specifically for operations in colder temperatures.

The ArcticShark design facilitates rapid integration of various types of payloads. 2500 W of its 4000 W electrical systems is dedicated to payload servicing. It has an interior payload volume of almost 85 L and four wing-mounted pylons capable of carrying external probes. Its payload bay volume, electrical power, payload capacity, and flight characteristics enable the ArcticShark to accommodate multiple combinations of payloads in numerous configurations. All instruments are currently being provided by the ARM (see below). A set of instrument requirements have been developed that will facilitate the inclusion of guest instruments so that other organizations may eventually propose instrumentation for specific campaigns.

ARM-provided measurement capabilities currently include the following: atmospheric state and thermodynamics (temperature, humidity, pressure, winds), gases (H2O and CO2), aerosol number concentration, size distribution, absorption, and composition (filter samples), cloud-droplet size distribution, multi-spectral surface imaging, and surface temperature.

<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >>