Upper Wind Forecasts for NASA's X-38 Flight Test Operations

Meteorologists at the Johnson Space Center and the Dryden Flight Research Center are involved in the flight tests of the X38 vehicle, a scaled prototype of the Crew Recovery Vehicle (CRV) designed for the International Space Station (ISS). Knowledge of accurate upper wind information is critical in accomplishing successful tests. A number of Captive Carry Flights and Free Flights have been done over the past three years requiring accurate forecasts, including upper wind forecasts for various events within the test. From B52 take-off to X38 release to parafoil deploy to X38 landing and parafoil stow, all of these events have certain wind limits for a successful and safe test completion. This paper (poster) describes the procedure by which these forecasts are generated using the Meteorological Information Data and Display System (MIDDS) and made available to the X38 Mission Director and Control Team and it looks at the variety of data fields used to generate these forecasts. Also, post-landing data are used to determine the accuracy of these upper wind forecasts.