The Launch Weather Decision Support System: A Comprehensive Meteorological Package for Range and Spaceport Operations

Radiometrics of Frederick, CO has developed a comprehensive meteorological support package for range and spaceport operations termed the Launch Weather Decision Support System (LWDSS). The purpose of LWDSS is to provide highly-localized precise short-term forecasting and nowcasting to assist with operator decision-making related to daily range operations as well as day-of-launch activities. LWDSS integrates local wind and thermodynamic measurements and blends these observations with high-resolution model analyses to provide continuous timely vertical wind and thermodynamic profiles for use in vehicle steering and loads applications as well as toxic and debris dispersion analysis. The instrumentation, software, and decision products can be customized to meet specific end-user vertical and horizontal launch requirements.

LWDSS contains the following main components:

• a Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) and Acoustic Wind Profiler (AWP) which when combined provide vertical profiles of wind velocities from the near-surface to an altitude of ~18 km depending on the configuration and instrument model
• a Microwave Profiling Radiometer (MPR) which provides vertical profiles of atmospheric thermodynamics and integrated moisture products from the surface to 10 km
• a surface sensor to provide surface thermodynamic and wind conditions
• Electric Field Mills (EFMs) and additional instrumentation to support the Lightning Launch Commit Criteria
• launch-site specific high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) cloud modeling
• integration of WRF outputs with real-time observations from profiling system
• deployment of X- and/or C-Band Doppler weather radars for launch commit criteria support
• aircraft measurements of atmospheric parameters for day-of-launch operations
• 24-7 operational forecast support including dedicated continuously updated day-of-launch forecasts
• customized decision support products for meteorological and non-meteorological users

This suite of instrumentation, modeling, integrated datasets, and decision support provides range and spaceport operators with customizable solutions to enhance launch window availability, safety, and efficiency.

This presentation will provide information on the LWDSS components along with examples of installations.