CNES and ONERA sign new framework agreement
Monday 30 March, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Bruno Sainjon, Chairman & CEO of ONERA, the French aeronautics, space and defence research laboratory, signed a new framework agreement at ONERA’s head office in Palaiseau through which the two agencies will step up their science and technology cooperation.
ONERA’s Licorne "wind lidar" platform measured the winds during the storm Hermann in January 2015 on a path from Palaiseau to Arpajon (south of Paris). Under these conditions, the lidar measured winds of about 90 km/h at a distance of about 12 km.
The maximum range of the instrument, reached during a windy episode on a clear day, is 16km, which is a world record for a fibre laser source.
ONERA’s Licorne platform installed on a roof of the Palaiseau centre, measuring
This new generation fibre laser source designed and developed at ONERA allows the Licorne platform to measure the wind speed in real time at a rate of 10 Hz and a spatial resolution of 150 m. Rapid airspeed fluctuations are detected.
An application for this type of long-range lidar is airport security.
Wind speed measurements with the Licorne platform. The figures show the wind speed as a function of the distance. Top: on a clear day, reaching the maximum range (16 km). Bottom, with a strong wind but with a range of less than 12 km, due to lower visibility.