posted
Instrument:
Principal Investigator:
Co Investigators:
Organization:
The Satellite Telemetry and Return Link(STARLink) is an information system that operates on the NASA ER-2 aircraft located at Ames Research Center. Presented here is an overview of the STARLink system.
The STARLink system enables each instrument on board an ER-2 aircraft to continuously transmit their data to its respective Principal Investigator (PI), located anywhere Internet or telephone systems are present. STARLink also is capable of allowing the PI's who receive data to connect with the airborne instrument and control its functions or fine tune its data acquisition. Should it become necessary for the flight path or cockpit control of the instrument to be modified, a voice channel exists between the ground and the pilot. STARLink has the potential to create a telepresence system for the PI's who use the ER-2 aircraft.
ER-2 aircraft fly in situ and remote sensing missions in the stratosphere and troposphere, as well as earth resource remote sensing flights The aircraft has also been used in a limited role of imaging natural disasters.
The capability of STARLink is continuous real-time data transfer, up to 294mbit/sec from the aircraft to the NASA White Sands Complex (WSC) for distribution. Currently, 48mb/sec can flow from White Sands to the Ames Payload Operations Control Center. Likewise, the command or return link from WSC to the aircraft is 400kb/sec, the present capability from ARC to WSC is limited to 56kb.
The real-time data transfer and display has been used for disaster situation monitoring such as fires and could be used for floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Without STARLink, the disaster data takes a few hours after landing to get to the appropriate disaster control agencies. This real- time data transfer and display will also support telepresence and telescience requirements of the stratospheric, tropospheric and earth resource science communities to maximize the data return from the missions. The coverage can be sustained over the 5000km range of the ER-2 aircraft. The command link will also allow the PI to use the instrument in the teleoperate mode throughout the mission of the ER-2 aircraft.
Back to the TEFLUN Instrument Description Page
Back to the TEFLUN Overview Page
Back to the TEFLUN Mission Home Page
Back to the ESPO Missions Home Page
Back to the ARC Earth Science Division Home Page
Back to the NASA/ARC Home Page