Cameras "Eye-ing" Full Capacity Airport
NEW DIGITAL VIDEO
CAMERAS INSTALLED BY NASA at the San Carlos, California, airport
control tower are helping to better report current weather conditions
for aircraft landing at San Francisco International Airport, some
10 miles away.
Installed by engineers from NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett
Field, California, the Airport Approach Zone Camera System enables
air traffic controllers and weather forecasters to track the real-time
onset and dissipation of fog and low clouds in the airport's approach
zone, particularly during the late morning. Because many aircraft
arrive at that time, the precise timing of the improved visibility
will improve the airport's ability to operate at, or close to, full
capacity.
"The big problem with arrivals at San Francisco International
Airport is that the runways are only 750 feet apart; when you can't
use both runways at the same time, you can only land 30 aircraft
an hour," said Yuri Gawdiak, an Ames aerospace engineer and the
project leader. San Francisco International Airport is one of the
nation's busiest, with 600 to 700 landings on a typical day. With
both runways operating simultaneously, 60 aircraft an hour can land.
"The live pictures allow us to better serve the needs of the Federal
Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic management specialists
here at the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center in Fremont,
California, the Oakland Bay TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control
Facility) at the Oakland International Airport, and the Air Traffic
Control System Command Center in Washington, D.C.," said Walt Strach,
National Weather Service meteorologist in charge of the Fremont
facility.
The Airport Approach Zone Camera System will significantly reduce
telephone calls between the FAA Oakland Center meteorologist and
the San Francisco air traffic control tower. "This should translate
into more efficient procedures for flow control when weather is
a factor in landing aircraft at San Francisco International Airport,"
Strach said.
"The Airport Approach Zone Camera System is allowing meteorologists,
both in my office and at the National Weather Service Forecast Office
in Monterey, California, to better see and understand the local
effects of wind currents and terrain, ocean and bay influences on
the formation and dissipation of clouds and fog in and around San
Francisco International Airport," Strach said. The Monterey weather
office issues aviation, public and marine forecasts for the entire
San Francisco Bay Area.
The high-speed video cameras operate 24 hours a day and provide
a 220-degree field of view with rotation, zoom and tilt capabilities.
Personnel in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) weather center located at the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control
Center remotely control the cameras, which also are accessible via
a secure web site. Ames engineers will install similar cameras at
the San Francisco International Airport control tower in the near
future.
The Airport Approach Zone Camera System is a joint effort among
Ames, the FAA and NOAA. The project is managed by the aviation safety
monitoring office at Ames and funded by NASA's Aviation Safety Program.
For more information, contact Yuri Gawdiak at Ames Research Center.
Call: 650/604-4765, E-mail: ygawdiak@mail.arc.nasa.gov
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HUBBLE
DATA PHONED FROM HOME
Computer
software developed for NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will
soon help operate a worldwide, satellite-based phone system
called Globalstar. This software is a key feature of NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center's "Vision 2000," an ongoing effort
to optimize the ground system operations and control of the
Hubble Space Telescope. The "Vision 2000" software allows
scientists and engineers to access and display Hubble spacecraft
and ground systems data through the Internet. Now engineers
can log on from home or other remote locations via their personal
computers.
This
Hubble spinoff will provide Globalstar, LP, San Jose, California,
with the technology to aid in delivering voice, data, fax
and other telecommunications services to users worldwide and
satisfies the critical need for Globalstar engineers to remotely
access spacecraft telemetry data from anywhere in the world.
Globalstar team members and partners will be able to coordinate
efforts and dynamically monitor and troubleshoot situations
with the constellation of 48 low-Earth orbiting satellites
from multiple locations.
As part
of its mission to build technology partnerships with industry,
Goddard, in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the Hubble Space Telescope
is controlled, has authorized Lockheed Martin Technology Services
Group, Seabrook, Maryland, to use this software for the commercial
Globalstar project. Lockheed Martin Technology Services Group
is a ground systems contractor to Globalstar, LP. Goddard
is in the process of evaluating the software to determine
other viable commercial applications.
For more
information, contact Nancy Neal at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Call: 301/286-0039, Fax: 301/286-1707, E-mail: Nancy.g.neal.1@
gsfc.nasa.gov
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