U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground meteorologist provides shipboard support to NASA

By Mr. Mark Schauer (ATEC)February 5, 2015

U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground meteorologist provides shipboard support to NASA
U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) personnel pride themselves on going the extra mile for test customers. But it isn't often they go hundreds of miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean. Here, YPG meteorologist Mark Hendrickson releases a weather balloon... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Arizona - U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground personnel pride themselves on going the extra mile for test customers. But it isn't often they go hundreds of miles offshore in the Pacific Ocean.

In 2014, YPG meteorologist Mark Hendrickson did it three times, once on the USS San Diego and twice on the USS Anchorage, in support of NASA testing of the Orion space capsule, culminating in the Orion's historic first flight in outer space in December. Hendrickson's support of the mission gave him a front row seat as the capsule successfully splashed down in the ocean a mere miles away from the ship.

The Orion Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle is NASA's next generation manned deep space exploration vehicle, and the Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) is responsible for decelerating the hurtling capsule to a lazy 17 miles per hour as it returns to Earth.

With nearly 20 drop tests of the CPAS conducted at YPG, Hendrickson and his fellow members of the proving ground's meteorology team have gained significant experience in supporting evaluation of the system. A key part of their forecasting support comes from launching weather balloons that carry a weather sensor package called an aerosonde. Critical meteorological data testers depend on is obtained from the small device: whereas surface winds could be calm or non-existent, high above the earth at the altitudes the CPAS is tested at, a roiling wind storm could be in progress.

In testing performed at YPG, wind speeds aloft could influence the time and circumstances in which a drop occurs, or even result in a postponement. For the return from its first flight into space, however, accurate wind data was even more important: NASA wanted a meteorologist aboard the Orion's recovery ship.

"They needed that data to pinpoint where the capsule and parachutes would splash down, and also to verify the NASA Space Meteorology Group's weather forecast for wind," said Hendrickson. "We've been doing our balloon launching and supporting air drops of the CPAS, and the Space Meteorology Group requested we do the same thing on the ship. The Navy discontinued its upper air program: they don't launch balloons from ships anymore."

With about a year to go before the Orion's scheduled first flight, YPG electronic technician Ryan Ingham performed a site survey of the Navy ship to verify YPG's met team could support the testing. When it was clear they could, Hendrickson volunteered to take the assignment. For each of the three sea missions, he took two full systems with him, one serving as a backup, and was pleased that all of his gear fit into the bed of a pick-up truck. On the last trip, Hendrickson was at sea for eight days, having left home the Sunday after Thanksgiving knowing that weather delays could result in his being at sea away from his fiancée and young son for as long as three weeks. Shipboard, he bunked with 12 other personnel as the Anchorage made its way to the Orion's planned splashdown site, about 600 miles off of the southwestern coast of Baja California.

"I have a lot of respect for sailors, but I don't think I could be in the Navy. There are lots of low hatches on ships."

Though occupied with plenty of meetings, there was also downtime filled with watching movies. There was no cell phone coverage at sea, so his only means of communication with family back home was through email. He ate in the mess hall, and found the fare underwhelming.

"It's quite a bit worse than when I was in the Air Force. It's kind of like school cafeteria food. We did get surf and turf the night we recovered the Orion, so that was nice."

Fortunately, the mission was favored with good weather throughout their journey at sea, and there was only a one day delay of the flight.

"Low cloud cover was the only significant weather. A few times the winds were rougher. It was pretty uneventful, overall, which was probably a good thing."

On the historic day, various dignitaries, including astronaut Sunni Williams, were aboard the Anchorage. Other astronauts of the past were there in spirit: Hendrickson recalls a crew meeting where a NASA official shared email messages from former members of the famous Apollo missions to the moon expressing their support and well-wishes. From his makeshift weather station on the ship's deck, Hendrickson launched a weather balloon and monitored its data as it ascended far into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, the Orion itself was successfully launched in Florida and ascending to 3,600 miles above the earth, after which it orbited the planet twice and re-entered at speeds topping 20,000 miles per hour. The CPAS deployed without a hitch, and the capsule's splashdown occurred within sight of the Anchorage a mere seconds after it was scheduled to do so, after which the crew aboard ship winched it from the sea.

The Orion's first manned mission could launch as early as 2021, but there will be at least one more unmanned test flight through space before then. Hendrickson says he would be happy to support the test again.

"It is really fascinating to see such a big project come together. It was the best temporary duty trip I've ever had."