NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The DC-8 and T-39 flew a coordinated mission over the CART site to profile stratus clouds and aerosols, and to provide data (FSSP) which will be useful for CART site radar systems calibration. The T-39 sampled the DC-8 exhaust at various altitudes, penetrating the stratosphere.

Flight Reports

Mission Summary

DC-8 SUCCESS flight #210 [960210] (scientists: Brian Toon and Eric Jensen)

96/04/28 CART site activity

Meteorology at the Central Facility

Weather Conditions from Site Operators Log

Visiting Instruments at Central Facilities

The DC-8, T-39 and ER-2 flew a coordinated mission over the CART site to profile optically thick cirrus, and to make coordinated measurements with the NOAA-14 satellite overpass at 1947 UTC. The DC-8 ascended in an up and down wind racetrack pattern before descending in slow spirals. The T-39 and DC-8 took turns sampling each others emissions and contrails. The ER-2 flew a racetrack pattern approximately ten degrees off the DC-8 orientation and in the opposite directions.

The T-39 and ER-2 flew separate missions. The T-39 sampled the emissions of commercial airliners (B757 and B727) at cruise altitudes of approximately 35kft. The ER-2 observed cirrus and contrails over Kansas and made coordinated measurements with the NOAA-14 satellite overpass at 1958 UTC.