BC/ISR Sensor Installation in Peru

BC/ISR researchers Chris Bridgwood and Keith Groves recently traveled to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO), a facility of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) in Lima, Peru to install a set of GPS and UHF sensors. The new equipment was built at BC/ISR and will be used to investigate ionospheric scintillation in the equatorial space environment. These sensors are prototypes being developed for a network of commercial ground sites. Their capabilities will be compared to existing receiver systems with the goal of expanding global coverage, enhancing the integrity and reliability of the scintillation data network through increased redundancy. Scintillation is an important space weather phenomena that disrupts satellite communications and GNSS navigation signals. Additional sensors are being built at BC/ISR for the project and will be deployed at more locations in the coming months.

The photos show, from left to right: JRO’s on-site engineer Cesar de la Jara and on-site technician Edward Arboleda (on ladder) installing the GPS antenna; BC/ISR researcher Keith Groves (on ladder) and JRO's Edward Arboleda installing the UHF antenna; BC/ISR researcher Chris Bridgwood adjusting the UHF antenna. This work is sponsored by USAF LCMC/HBAW at Hanscom AFB, MA.