Remote areas, particularly over the oceans, represent regions with the least observation coverage and contribute significantly to reducing the potential accuracy of numerical weather prediction…

The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded Stratosolutions Inc. a $150,000 Project Grant under the NOAA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program on September 1, 2021 to be completed by February 28, 2022.

The grant funds Stratosolutions Inc. to integrate miniaturized dropsondes onto high altitude pseudo-satellite unmanned aerial vehicles to validate weather data collection capabilities not currently possible. Dropsondes are one of the only viable options for meteorological observations over remote ocean areas with no cost-effective radiosonde deployment approach. Technology advances have enabled smaller dropsondes suitable for deployment from solar-powered stratospheric unmanned aerial vehicles capable of continuous flight for months. If validated, the integrated system could significantly improve numerical weather prediction model accuracy by addressing data gaps over oceans.

Remote areas, particularly over the oceans, represent regions with the least observation coverage and contribute significantly to reducing the potential accuracy of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. In addition to space-based observations, dropsondes are possibly the only viable meteorological sensors for use over remote areas, where there is no cost-effective approach to permit regular release of radiosondes. Technology improvements have enabled the miniaturization in the size and weight of dropsondes, thereby allowing new approaches for dropsonde stowage and deployment. Solar-powered stratospheric high altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) are a new class of unmanned aircraft capable of flying continuously in the stratosphere for several months between landings. The integration of these miniaturized dropsonde to HAPS UAVS opens a level of weather data gathering not possible today. The goal of the phase I project is to validate that the HAPS-dropson