Notes from the Field

MABEL flies aboard NASA’s ER-2, which is a research version of the Air Force’s U2 reconnaissance aircraft. MABEL specifically flies in the nose cone of the ER-2. The ER-2 is special because it flies at a very high altitude. MABEL’s data is collected at approximately 65,000 feet above sea level, putting the instrument above much […]

March 25, 2011 This past Tuesday (3/22), MABEL had her first successful flight of 2011! After just a day of hooking MABEL up to the aircraft and checking out her systems (image below), we flew the instrument on what we consider to be a ‘shakedown’ mission. We flew a route local to the Dryden Flight Research […]

March 19, 2011 With three sea ice flights successfully behind us, and the airport being closed on the weekend, we had a day off from operations, and took advantage of the great activities that are coordinated by the Community Center here at Thule AFB.  Today’s trip was a hike to the Ice Cap.  About two […]

March 18, 2011 Today we flew again and went right by the North Pole!  The NASA P-3 went 2 degrees to the left of it, if you picture looking straight down on top of earth! The flights are usually about 7-8 hour missions so I woke up early and went to breakfast.  After we got […]

March 24, 2011 Greetings from Palmdale, California. Our Goddard-based team is at Dryden Flight Research Center testing an instrument named MABEL, which stands for “Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental Lidar”. MABEL is an ICESat-2 simulator, which we fly the instrument at high altitudes over various terrain to test the satellite’s measurement concept. We were out here […]

March 17, 2011 Another early morning wake up, with a quick check of the weather.  I went to bed last night with snow falling, and not so promising satellite pictures showing a fairly significant storm system off to our west.  I was thinking that we would be cancelled due to weather, but woke up to […]

March 16, 2011 Today was the day I had been waiting for all week. It was the first flight day of the IceBridge operation out of Thule, Greenland.  Flying today had a special meaning to me for a few different reasons.  I recently was selected to become a Navy pilot, which is a goal I […]

March 16, 2011 My alarm clock was set for 5:30 this morning to wake up, shower, get some breakfast and be at the hanger no later than 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. take off. The weather was good for our target area north of the Canadian archipelago (islands), to survey the sea ice beneath […]

March 14, 2011 Today was busy day; a cargo shipment arrived with some instruments for the ground stations at 1430, and the P-3 arrived from Wallops Island, Va., at 1535.  The air temperatures were about 20 below zero, with wind chills around minus 30 degrees Celsius. I was able to get right outside the hanger, […]