A012-0013
The 5STAR airborne tracking sunphotometer on the NASA SIERRA UAS

Monday, 7 December 2020
Poster
Stephen P Broccardo1, Stephen E Dunagan2, Robert P. Dahlgren3, Roy Johnson2, Lauren Fahey4, Conrad Esch5, Scott Venancio5, Samuel E LeBlanc6, Kristina Pistone2, Meloe S Kacenelenbogen2, Michal Segal-Rosenhaimer2, Aaron Mazzulla7, Samuel Zuninga7, Richard Kolyer2, Michael Stewart7, Connor Flynn8 and Jens Redemann9, (1)USRA / NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (2)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (3)California State University Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA, United States, (4)Bay Area Environmental Research Institute Sonoma, Sonoma, United States, (5)Bay Area Environmental Research Institute Moffett Field, Moffett Field, United States, (6)Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (7)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, United States, (8)University of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman, United States, (9)University of Oklahoma, School of Meteorology, Norman, OK, United States
Abstract:
The NASA 5STAR (ultra-Stable Spectrometer for Sky-Scanning Sun-tracking Atmospheric Research) airborne tracking sunphotometer will eventually replace the previous-generation instrument, which is now approximately a decade old. The 5STAR design has benefited from improvements in off-the-shelf robotic and optronic technologies, and investments in custom electronics which have reduced the size, weight and power requirements. 5STAR features thermally-stabilized filter-photodiode detectors at discrete wavelengths, along with miniature fiber spectrometers, enclosed in the azimuth-elevation robot head. A miniature inertial measurement unit now enables motion-compensation during sky-scanning. Integration plans for the 5STAR instrument’s first flights are on the SIERRA (Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft) unmanned airborne system. Further miniaturization will allow flights of a scaled-down instrument on multi-rotor platforms.
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