RAFB supports NASA flights

A NASA high-altitude research aircraft has been flying from Robins AFB to North Carolina since early May to assist in gathering rainfall measurements.

The NASA ER-2 is a civilian version of the Air Force’s U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. It is outfitted with specialized instruments capable of scanning shorelines, measuring water levels, assessing flood damage and sampling the stratosphere as it flies its missions at the edge of space.

The ER-2 along with its aircrew support team of 10 is gathering data to help predict weather conditions in the Appalachians. A routine mission includes flying over thunderstorms in Asheville, N.C. where ground radars have been placed to measure rainfall.

The NASA ER-2 flights are in support of a ground validation field campaign known as the Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment, which is scheduled to take place through June 15. The experiment is co-led by NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement mission, in conjunction with Duke University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hydrometerological Testbed.

“The plane acts as if we’re a satellite looking down. We’re essentially looking down through thunderstorms, picking up microwave energy which can tell you the temperature and so forth based on the noise and background of everything,” said Tim Williams, a NASA research test pilot.

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