High-Altitude Inflatable Kites and Their Role in Atmospheric Boundary Layer Research

Abstract

AbstractKites have been used as weather sensing solutions for over 250 years. The fact that they are simpler to operate and train on than alternative aerial systems, their ability to keep station at a fixed point for a long term, simplified altitude control, and the ease of retrieving their payload attribute to their growing appeal in atmospheric research. NASA, Toyota, and the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Oklahoma State University are active in developing and deploying high-altitude inflatable kite systems for atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) research—crucial to advancing the accuracy of weather forecasting. Improvements in kite design, as well as instrumentation and supporting infrastructure, are key to further accelerating the use of kites in atmospheric research. The work underway by these researchers is intended to be a deliberate step in the evolutionary development of these beneficial systems.