397. Measurements of Thunderstorm Electrical Parameters for Improvement of the Lightning Flight Commit Criteria
Lead University
Florida Institute of Technology
Team
| Name | Role | Primary |
|---|---|---|
| Amitabh Nag | Principal Investigator | ● |
| Karl Garman | Tech Monitor | ● |
Research Area
1.0 Space Traffic Management & Spaceport Operations
Project Description
Beyond vehicle and payload issues, weather has been the single largest source of launch delays and scrubs on the Eastern Range [e.g., Roeder and McNamara, 2006; Maier, 2015]. The current growth rate of the commercial space sector means that there will be continued and increasing weather delays and scrubs for the commercial launch operator. One way to minimize launch costs is to reduce the uncertainty associated with the cloud rules that protect a launch vehicle by preventing its interaction with natural lightning or a lightning strike triggered by the vehicle during a launch. These cloud rules on the Eastern and Western Federal Ranges are known as the Lightning Launch Commit Criteria (LLCC) and are
referred to as the Lightning Flight Commit Criteria (LFCC) in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Code of Federal Regulations (Appendix G to Part 417). Hazen et al. [1995] reported that the LLCC/LFCC have caused nearly 5% of the launches from CCAFS/KSC to scrub and delayed 35% of the launches. By better understanding the environmental conditions that indicate initiation and cessation of thundercloud electrical activity, a more refined electric field threshold could be introduced leading to a relaxation of the cloud constraints. Ultimately, this will lessen the percentage of launch delays and scrubs associated with the LLCC/LFCC thus promoting the commercial launch sector.
Project Outcomes
The objectives of this proposal will lead to refinement of existing regulations, specifically the Code of Federal Regulations (Appendix G to Part 417) and will lead to development of improved regulatory criteria and improved management of safety of launch and reentry vehicles. As a result, the goals of this project are aligned with those of AST-1 (improved
management of safety of public and property) and AST-4 (development of improved methodologies for evaluating the safety of public and property).
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