September 16, 2003

Krista Laursen
Director, HIAPER Project Office

In looking at the calendar, it is hard to believe that delivery of the modified GV to UCAR/NCAR will take place in just a little over a year from now. Since I sent out the last HIAPER status report in July, a lot of work has taken place to move us farther along toward our goal of meeting the October 2004 delivery date. In the sections that follow, I would like to give all of you a brief summary of the present status of the HIAPER program.

GV Jacking and Shoring

From 5-6 August, Lockheed Martin and Gulfstream personnel performed the jacking and shoring of the aircraft at Lockheed's modification facility in Greenville, SC. This procedure -- which is roughly the equivalent of putting the aircraft "up on blocks" and bracing it -- required that custom rigging and support equipment be engineered and built for HIAPER. Two members of the NCAR/ATD aircraft maintenance team, Brent Kidd and Jim Nolan, traveled to Greenville to watch this work take place, and they reported back to the Project Office that the work was completed successfully, on time, and that the GV was leveled to well within factory tolerances for the airframe. As the modification effort proceeds in the coming months, Lockheed personnel will check the leveling of the aircraft on a regular basis to make sure that the fuselage and other components of the aircraft are not damaged in any way as a result of work on the airframe. Pictures of the jacked and shored HIAPER platform have now been posted to the HIAPER website, and I invite each of you to visit the Photo Gallery section of the site to take a look at the aircraft in its present state.

Having succesfully completed this critical task, Lockheed and Gulfstream personnel have now turned their attention to the removal of floorboards and belly systems in the aircraft. Both of these tasks and the installation of temporary plywood floorboards need to be completed before work to modify the fuselage can begin.

Recently, Lockheed notified the HPO that some of the special materials needed to fabricate modifications (aperture plates, etc.) for the GV had arrived several weeks ahead of schedule. Correspondingly, Lockheed now intends to make the first cuts into the aircraft fuselage in early November, several weeks ahead of the schedule that was originally set up for this work. Thus, as of this writing, I am in the very pleasant position of being able to report that work to modify the GV is proceeding slightly ahead of schedule. I will, of course, continue to keep all of you informed as the modification of the airframe proceeds, and the HPO will continue to provide as much photo documentation of this process as is possible via the HIAPER website.

Upcoming Status Meeting with the HIAPER Advisory Committee (HAC)

On Tuesday, 23 September, the HPO will host a number of the HAC members here at NCAR for a one-day meeting to review the status of the HIAPER project. This meeting will provide a valuable opportunity for HPO, ATD, and NSF staff members to update the members of this important advisory body on the overall status of the project and to discuss specific aspects of the GV acquisition. The HAC has, since its creation several years ago, provided invaluable guidance to NCAR and UCAR on numerous aspects of the HIAPER project, and the HPO is looking forward to our face-to-face discussions with the committee members next week and to having the opportunity to answer any questions they may have.

HIAPER Educational Program

Over the past several months, the HPO has been working with the UCAR Education and Outreach (E&O) office to develop an educational program to accompany the GV development effort. Owing to the concerted efforts and enthusiasm of Roberta Johnson and Susan Foster in E&O, a multi-faceted educational program has been developed and proposed for HIAPER. This program will consist of the filming of one or more prime-time documentaries (similar to NOVA) on the making of HIAPER and the science to be done with the platform and will also involve the creation of website and curricular materials to be used by educators in the classroom. Because work to modify the GV will begin so soon, the NCAR Director's Office made the decision to fund the first year of filming work using NCAR Director's Reserve funds. Funding for the second and third years of the proposed educational program are being sought from the NSF Informal Science Education (ISE) program.

The HPO and UCAR E&O are pleased to announce that Geoff Haines-Stiles of Passport to Knowledge has agreed to partner with us in the creation of the HIAPER documentary films. As the Project Director of the PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE and LIVE FROM series, Geoff has developed a series of interactive learning adventures that connect essential life, earth, space, and physical science concepts with exciting real world phenomena on topics ranging from research in the rainforest and Antarctica to the exploration of Mars. We are looking forward to working with Geoff and his production company in the coming months as his efforts to document the HIAPER construction and deployment process unfold.

Infrastructure Development Efforts

As we head into the fall, a significant amount of work is being done by NCAR staff to develop the various infrastructure systems needed for the GV. Following the conduct of preliminary design reviews (PDRs) for both the data acquisition system and data display and access software this summer, the two subgroups responsible for developing and building these two new GV systems have begin actively testing and building hardware and software. At present, it is planned that critical design reviews (CDRs) for the data acquisition system and data display and access software efforts will take place later this fall, perhaps in November.

A preliminary request for proposals (RFP) for the GV intercommunication system (ICS) was recently released, and within the next few weeks, the HPO should begin obtaining information from potential bidders regarding the possible cost and installation schedule requirements for this system. Dick Friesen and Mike Spowart, the co-chairs of the data acquisition system subgroup, are presently performing a survey of available satellite communications (SATCOM) systems that might be suitable for the GV. These efforts will culminate in the preparation and release of a RFP for the HIAPER SATCOM system within the next several months.

First HIAPER "Town Hall" Meeting

As I outlined in the July status report, the HPO has decided to begin holding tri-annual "town hall" meetings here at NCAR on the HIAPER project. We feel it is essential to keep NCAR and UCAR staff regularly informed about the status of efforts to develop the GV, and it is our hope that these meetings will -- in combination with periodic status reports sent out to all of you by email -- help to keep you, the stakeholders in this project, fully in the loop regarding present and upcoming activities.

The first HIAPER "town hall" meeting will take place on Tuesday, 7 October from 9:00-10:30 a.m. in the NCAR FL2 Auditorium. During this meeting, HPO staff will provide an overview of the current status of the program, and some of the HIAPER integrated project team (IPT) subgroup leaders will give brief presentations on the work being done to develop infrastructure systems for the GV. Ample time will also be provided during the meeting for the answering of any questions that may be raised. This meeting is intended for any and all interested NCAR and UCAR staff, so please mark your calendars and plan on attending. The HPO will also post an announcement of the meeting to "This Week at UCAR" as the date draws closer.

As always, should you have any questions about the HIAPER program, please do not hesitate to contact me here in the HPO.