Wind Profile Estimation Using a TIDGET Payload on Weather Balloons

Amir Matini, Alison Brown, and James LaMance

Abstract:	Wind profile data is collected at ranges prior to the launch of high dynamic vehicles as a safety measure and to insure navigation accuracy. To date, radars have been the primary source for range wind profile information, using weather balloons to carry a reflector kite which is tracked with a radar system. Usually several balloons are released in variable time intervals prior to the launch of every vehicle. The data collected is analyzed for wind velocity. This information is then programmed into the control and navigation system of the vehicle for appropriate navigation corrections. The main problem to this approach is the high cost associated with maintenance and operation of high resolution radar systems. Another problem is that as the balloon travels farther away from the radar, the range and direction measured become less accurate. Also, since the velocity measurements are made based on time intervals and distances between fixes, this exaggerates the error in the wind profile data. An alternative to radar tracking is to use a low cost GPS sensor on the balloon payload. The TIDGETm tracking system developed by NAVSYS is less costly than radar and provides measurements of the balloon position and wind-speed in real-time. In addition, the accuracy of this system is generally better than radar. This paper compares test data taken using TIDGET and radar data from wind profiling at the Kauai Test Facility of Sandia National Laboratories.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1996) June 19 - 21, 1996 Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge, MA
Pages:	693 - 696
Cite this article:	Matini, Amir, Brown, Alison, LaMance, James, "Wind Profile Estimation Using a TIDGET Payload on Weather Balloons," Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1996), Cambridge, MA, June 1996, pp. 693-696.
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