Airborne Instrumentation
Over the course of several decades, over one hundred unique instruments have been flown for various science investigations, ranging from remote sensing devices, to in situ atmospheric samplers, to astrophysical experiments. Most of this instrumentation was built by Principle Investigators at various NASA field centers, universities, or other government research facilities. These are considered as "P.I. Sensors," and are owned and maintained by these various institutions. Use of these systems must be arranged directly with the instrument P.I. A few large remote sensing systems have been built by NASA for community use, which are classed as "Facility Sensors." Access to these systems may be obtained through the standard Suborbital Flight Request process, with funding provided by either the requesting individual, or by prior arrangement with a NASA Program Manager.
Traditionally airborne measurement systems have been integrated onto a particular aircraft, which then performed all of the required data collection flights. Increasingly however, instruments are being designed to be platform-independent, which increases both mission flexibility and the number of research flight opportunities. New instrument programs which are interested in using one of the NASA catalog aircraft are encouraged to read the FAQ section below, and contact the Suborbital Program for further information.
The following sections include a partial listing of the science instruments that are currently integrated and operational on the various catalog aircraft, together with information on the NASA Facility Sensors, and the procedures for integrating a new instrument onto a NASA (or NASA-contract) aircraft.
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