I. Tethered Balloon Sonde, 10 m tower and Doppler sodar (PI-Garstang)

• 24 hour a day operations are planned
• number of scientists in field: up to 11
• number of scientists at site needing bunks at any one time: 7

Requirements:

• 20 amp AC power for tower and recording/processing equipment and for 8' x 8' air-conditioned sea container (provided by PI)
• 3 phase 220 V for winch
• phone and data link
• 12' x 12' non-airconditioned storage space
• accessible by KMR transport ship (LCM or LCU) to bring sea container, tower and winch

Requested:

• best exposure to upstream flow (easterly to north-easterly flow)
• location near upper-air sounding launches

Outstanding Issues

The FAA at Kwajalein has not as yet granted permission for the operation of the tethered sonde during KWAJEX. There is no permanent restricted airspace on Kwajalein Atoll. FAA regulations Part 101, subparts A and B do not permit operation of such a device in cloud or in low visibility conditions (e.g. in rain or other IFR conditions). Appropriate lighting of the sonde and tether would be needed for night operations. An altitude ceiling will likely be imposed and rigorously monitored. Separate waivers for operation of the tethered sonde in clear conditions and for operation of the tethered sonde in cloud and low visibility will need to be worked out with the western Pacific regional office of the FAA in cooperation with the FAA at Kwajalein. The FAA on Kwajalein stated that they will not permit tethered sonde operations within 5 miles of the Kwajalein airfield which is a commercial airport. Even with a waiver, the FAA indicated that the sonde and balloon would need to be lowered all the way to the ground when helicopter traffic was landing and taking off at helipads in the vicinity of the tethered sonde. The airfield at Roi-Namur is not a commercial airfield. If this site is preferred, an additional waiver to operate within 5 miles of the airfield at Roi-Namur will be needed.

Potential sites for tethered sonde:

Kwalajein Island is only 1/2 mile wide and 2 1/2 miles long. Since no location on Kwajalein Island is more than 5 miles from the airfield, Kwajalein Island locations are not feasible. All KMR-controlled islands are accessible by marine transport can meet the tethered sonde power requirements. Active KMR islands on the east reef (east side of atoll) are the only potential sites meeting requirements for power and easterly exposure. These islands are Meck, Gagan and Roi-Namur.

MECK ISLAND

Meck Island is used as a missile launch site during KMR missions and has missile silos on the north side of the island and a helicopter pad on the south side. The level of activity on Meck depends on the mission preparation cycle and varies between 4 and 7 days a week. Access to Meck is unavailable during missions. During non-working days there is no transportation or other support services. Based on currently available information, no mission is planned for the period of KWAJEX operations and Meck would likely be operating on a 4 or 5 day work week.

• Transportation:
  • - catamaran from Kwaj in morning and returns to Kwaj in evening (45 min -1 hr trip one way) on working days
  • - helicopter from Kwaj stops at Meck twice a day on working days
• Support Services:
  • - Fire and Security
  • - small dining hall serving lunch on working days, box lunches would be needed for breakfast and dinner and for all meals on non-working days
  • - doctor available on working days
  • - bunk house in fire department, scientists would need to stay overnight on non-working days.
• Security Issues:
  • Depending on if a launch is in preparation and at what stage, access to the N portion of the island (beyond the fence) will be restricted. All of the support services needed by the tethered sonde are on the S side of the fence.

Recommended locations:

Given the constraints of staying south of the fence, needing an open space away from the immediate vicinity of buildings and towers, h, and the desire for a hard surface on which to anchor the winch the proposed locations are both unfortunately very close to the helipad. There is an existing pole with Aeromet surface meteorological instruments near the rain gauge.

1. S-site: On south side of low hill, just S of helipad.
   
   
2. N-site: Along old runway fragment just N of helipad.
   

GAGAN ISLAND

Gagan Island is used as an optical telescope site and also serves as a hub for the hydrophone network to the east of Kwajalein. Work week at Gagan is four 10 hour days.

• Transportation:
  • - helicopter from Kwaj stops at Gagan twice a day on working days (morning and evening).
• Transportation:
  Support Services:
  • - no dining, box lunches would be needed for all meals
  • - no medical
  • - 4 bunks in small trailer but several are occupied
• Security Issues:
  • No access during missions. Based on currently available information, no mission is planned for the period of KWAJEX operations.

Recommended locations:

Although Gagan has an excellent easterly exposure, the extremely small size of the island limits potential sites for the tethered sonde. There is little to no infrastructure on Gagan for 24 hour operations and likely insufficient bunk space. It is recommended that Gagan be considered a potential site for the tethered sonde only as a last resort.

1. A small area near the rain gauge is likely the only feasible location for the tethered-sonde winch since the helipad is used and the area just in front of the boat ramp has to be kept clear for loading fuel and other large cargo.
   
   
2. The instrumented tower might be placed just north of the fuel tanks in an open area on the north end of the island.
   

ROI-NAMUR ISLAND

Roi-Namur was originally two islands, Roi and Namur and was connected by a land bridge prior to WWII. A Japanese command post was located on the island and ruins of some of the Japanese infrastructure from the war remain. Many of KMR's tracking radars are physically located on Roi-Namur. Roi-Namur supports a permanent population of adults and has an excellent infrastructure. Upper-air sounding launches will be made from the Aeromet launch facility on the golf course at Roi Namur every 3 hr during KWAJEX intensive operations and every 6 hours during the balance of KWAJEX.

• Transportation:
  
  • KMR operated Dash-7 shuttle service to Kwajalein 6-7 times a day during the 5 day work week and 2 flights a day on weekends.
• Support Services:
  • full service dining hall, snack bar open during lunch and evenings until 9:30 pm
  • store
  • medical services
  • plenty of bachelor quarter housing available
  • leisure activities: movies, hobby shop, bike shop, golf course, pool, racquetball, tennis, basketball, dive club
• Security Issues:
  • None. All secured areas are inside restricted building.

Recommended locations:

Assuming a waiver is granted by the FAA for operating the tethered sonde within 5 miles of the Roi-Namur airfield, there are two possible locations at opposite ends of the island. Given the prevailing northeasterly, winds the sonde tether would extend away from the island in both locations.

1. Southeast corner- soft sand beach. Holes would need to be dug to reach the underlying coral in order to anchor the winch and tower.
   
   
   
2. Northwest corner - near Aeromet offices on Roi and inactive Speedball rocket launch facility. The proximity of this site to the aircraft approach path would make it less desirable than the SE site.
   
   

II. S-band and 915 MHz Profilers (PI-Gage)

• unmanned 24 hour a day operations
• for purposes of remote monitoring TBD data from each instrument transferred by modem to KWAJEX OPS CENTER every 30 to 60 minutes
• quick visual check of equipment and exchange of recording media at TBD interval (several days)

Requirements:

• power: 208-240 volts, 30 amps, 60 Hz, single phase
• position low to the water
• no tall obstacles within vertically pointing beam
• accessible by KMR transport ship (LCU) bringing sea containers containing profilers
• accessible by crane (carried by LCU) needed to set up antennae

Requested:

• to faciliate intercomparison with Kwaj scanning S-band radar data, site should be free of ground clutter (on the Kwaj radar)
• assuming no ground clutter, sites closer to Kwaj radar are preferable to those farther away
• to minimize effects of sea clutter in profiler data, low vegetation blocking view of ocean may be desired.

Outstanding Issues

No problems are foreseen with operation of the S-band profiler. The 915 MHz profiler needs to clear use of that frequency with cellular phone system on Ebeye Island (Republic of Marshall Islands).

LEGAN ISLAND- Profiler Site

Legan is the site of a spash detection radar (red and white tower with radome) and optical telescope sensors. The cleared area of Legan is less than half of the island. Few people work on Legan and it has a large population of landgoing-crabs.

• Transportation
  • helicopter from Kwaj stops at Legan twice a day on working days, we can probably ask them to hold on the ground for 15 min while the recording media is exchanged and a quick check is made of the equipment.
• Support Services:
  • box lunches would be needed for meals to support the setup and teardown crew.
• Security Issues:
  • None. Restricted areas are inside buildings.

Recommended locations:

The cleared area of Legan is small and is primarily occupied by the helipad. The pathway from the boat ramp to the fuel storage near the cluster of buildings needs to be kept clear. With these considerations in mind, the only feasible location is about half way between the cluster of buildings and the helipad between two outhouses. This site would have unobstructed exposure to the sea surface on the lagoon side of the island and some blockage of the ocean side by vegation.