Assessment of Atmopheric Winds Aloft During NASA Space Shuttle Program Day-of-Launch Operations

摘要

The Natural Environments Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center monitors the winds aloft at Kennedy Space Center in support of the Space Shuttle Program day of launch operations. High resolution wind profiles are derived from radar tracked Jimsphere ballons which are launched at predetermined times preceding the launch, for evaluation. The spatial (shear) and temporal (persistence) wind characteristics are assessed against a design wind database to ensure wind change does not violate wind change criteria. Evaluations of wind profiles are reported to personnel at Johnson Space Center.