The UND Citation Research Jet returns from a Successful NASA-Sponsored Project

The UND Citation research jet has returned from a successful NASA-sponsored project in Ponca City, Oklahoma. The team of Wayne Schindler (pilot), Jonathan Sepulveda (co-pilot), Aaron Ness (technician), Andrea Neumann (flight science engineer), Tony Grainger (flight scientist), and Mike Poellot (flight scientist and principal investigator) conducted a 6-week period of flight operations in the vicinity of thunderstorms (not through them!). The goal of the experiment was to collect data in clouds and precipitation while the atmosphere was being sampled by a satellite simulator flown in a NASA ER-2 at 65,000 feet. Numerous radars and other ground-based systems also sampled the clouds and rain at the same time. The data will be used to improve global satellite precipitation estimates and improve precipitation forecasting. A total of 15 data missions (45 flight hours) were flown as the result of a great team effort!