ER-2 Flight: 97043

Date: January 30, 1997

Mission: Comparison of uplooking SSEC with downlooking ER-2 instrumentation, HIS checkout.

Mission Objectives

2 hour data collection flight for HIS performance checkout. Overflight of SSEC instrumentation for cloud property comparisons.

Flight Summary

Take off at 1704 UTC. ER-2 landed at MSN at 2015UTC.

ER-2 left Madison and set up for racetrack pattern (oriented 280/100) with Madison positioned at eastern end of southern leg. Tracks about 90nm long. 4 racetracks flown with SSEC overpasses at 1729, 1803, 1839, 1912 and 1933 UTC. Last overpass was a shortened track just before descent. Sky conditions ranged from overcast to thin and patchy. All ground instrumentation operative during SSEC overpass.

Highlights

ER-2 did 5 overpasses of SSEC ground -based instrumentation with sky conditions ranging from thick overcast to thin, patchy cloud.

Instrument Status

• Modis Airborne Simulator (MAS): Operated, good data collected.
• Cloud Lidar System (CLS): Operated, data collected.
• High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (HIS): Failed due to dewar problems.
• Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (MIR): Operated in stare mode, good data collected.
• Tilt Scan CCD Camera (TSCC): Not flown this mission.
• RC-10 Camera: Operated between 17:26 and 17:31 (black and white - 12 inch lens). Data OK.

Additional Pilot Notes:. On 3rd overpass of SSEC (1839UTC) pilot reported seeing ground visible through thin clouds.