Bird Trackers Protect Spacecraft at Launch

Kennedy Space Center (KSC), September 5, 2007

Few birds were sighted at Launch Pad 39A during the minutes leading up to Endeavour’s launch on mission STS-118. This was confirmed by ASRC Aerospace and NASA workers who were sitting in the Expanded Photo Optical Control Center in Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Control Center using a software system called the Bird Vision System to monitor bird activity during launch countdown from T-9 minutes through T-60 seconds. The Bird Vision System was first used last year during the July 4 launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 and for all subsequent missions. The custom software program was developed by ASRC Aerospace under the University- Affiliated Spaceport Technology Development Contract, or USTDC, after a bird struck the external tank during the launch of Discovery on mission STS-114. The system is linked to three tracking cameras at each launch pad with views of the pad near the top of the lightning mast on the fixed service structures. The system displays two-dimensional and three-dimensional views of the launch pad area and records the track of birds within a 500-foot radius of the pad. Chris Immer, an ASRC Aerospace physicist and principal investigator, was one of the software/hardware developers. Others included John Lane, Jesus Dominguez, Steve Klinko and Bill Oleen, all with ASRC’s USTDC Applied Physics Lab. Using any one of up to nine different image-processing algorithms, the system identifies birds in each camera view and calculates their position in real-world coordinates. Immer said the system then sends the detected bird coordinates to a central server where the information is combined into one scene displaying all bird tracks in real time. “The screen can be displayed as an overhead-type display or in a virtual 3-D-type display similar to that of Google Earth,” Immer said. “The NASA test director has access to both the 2-D and 3-D views in the Firing Room.” Immer said the system complements an existing bird radar system and serves as an aid for the launch director during launch countdown activities. ASRC is working to upgrade to high-definition cameras in order to enhance the detection accuracy and increase the area of coverage.

By Linda Herridge, Staff Writer
This article appears in the August 24th issue of Spaceport News