NIROPS Update: Phoenix System and IR Operations in 2012

Topics Phoenix System Review AirCell Telecommunications System IR Operations

Phoenix IR System Review and 2012 Status

PHOENIX System Specifications Two channel thermal IR line scanner 3-5 μm band for intense heat 8-12 μm band for background terrain 1.25 milliradian IFOV – 3.5 meter pixel at NADIR, 10,000 feet AGL FOV – 6 mile swath at 10,000 feet AGL 256 gray scale (256 th pixel is colored red) 1680 pixels per scan line 200 scan lines per second

WHY IR LINE SCANNERS? Cover extremely large areas in a very short period of time Line scanners are extremely accurate (depending on processing system) Can detect very small fires (While simultaneously) Mapping very large areas Timely delivery

KA-B Detection Concept Mid IR LWIRKA-B MODVOL 12.5 ft Pixel 0 Deg. C Terrain 10 Inch Square 600 Deg. C Fire 100 Deg. C Asphalt Courtesy John Green, Argon ST A = Mid IR (3-5 µm) B = LWIR (8-12 µm)

KA – B Detection Output From Phoenix System

Phoenix System Summary Software and hardware upgrades to the Phoenix IR system have increased its utility for wildland fire incident support Output data product is GIS-ready Planned software upgrades will add to current utility File size reduction through compression and/or breaking files into logical blocks

AirCell Telecommunications System

AIRCELL WINS FCC AUCTION AirCell awarded exclusive air-to- ground broadband license in June 2006 by FCC. AIRCELL to use ground based “EV- DO” cell phone technology Debuting in early 2008, coverage will be seamless coast to coast ►“Go-Go” In Flight Internet service offered by Delta, American, and Virgin America

ADVANTAGES 1. Fewer takeoffs and landings resulting in less spent fuel per mission and less maintenance. 2. Safer flights due to fewer landings late at night into uncontrolled dark airports. 3. Late night drives to pick up data by IRINs eliminated. 4. Less time lost doing ftp downloads since data transfer is almost in real time from aircraft. 5. Data arriving at NIROPS folder at ftp.nifc.gov earlier in the mission day allowing faster processing. 6. Less expensive than satellite based telecomm systems, with higher data transfer rates.

SECURITY Security levels will be provided equivalent to that found at Wi-Fi hotspots at hotels and coffee houses. AirCell’s air-to-ground wireless link is highly secure using encryption and other techniques to ensure privacy of user data.

AIRCELL Equipment ftp.nifc.gov / NIROPS

Coverage (3 sector)

PEAK DATA RATES 3.1 Mega bits per second (Mbps) from the ground to the aircraft uninterrupted coast to coast and border to border. 1.8 Mega bits per second (Mbps) from the aircraft to the ground giving an experience similar to a DSL connection at home or small office. AirCell demonstration June 2008, 29.1 Mb file downloaded to the NIFC FTP site in 17 minutes with 6 other users over aircraft’s WI-FI network

How Does This Impact The IRIN (and the incidents)? You will get your data sooner, but You may not get as much data Ortho-rectified grayscale imagery GeoTiff format Raw Heat shapefile Phoenix metadata Ortho-rectified color imagery** ** Dependant on fire size and number of fires to be flown }WinZiparchive

AirCell Internet Connectivity Twitter feeds from both IR Aircraft Near real time status updates Fires flown Imagery upload status UTFs

Questions?