Scheduling astronomy observations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) requires assessing tradeoffs between the percentage of scheduled observations, the Line Of Sight Water Vapor (LOS-WV) achieved on those observations, and fuel consumption. This trade space is complex, depending on time of year and specific mixes of observations, and cannot be effectively analyzed by hand. We demonstrate the complexity of these tradeoffs and show that an Automated Flight Planner (AFP) is a crucial part of trade space analysis during flight planning.
High and Dry: Trading Water Vapor, Fuel and Observing Time for Airborne Infrared Astronomy
2005
5 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Astronomy & Celestial Mechanics , Fuels , Aeronautics , Line of sight , Astronomy , Astronomical observatories , Water vapor , Instrument flight , Symposia , Automation , Airborne , Stratosphere , Infrared radiation , Trade off analysis , Low level , Fuel consumption , Stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy , Automated flight planner , Component reports , Sofia(Stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy) , Afp(Automated flight planner) , Flight planning , General investigator program
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