Vaisala Dropsonde RD93
The Vaisala Dropsonde RD93 is a general-purpose dropsonde
for high-altitude deployment from a variety of aircraft. Slowed in its descent
through the atmosphere by a special parachute, the RD93 measures the
atmospheric profiles of pressure, temperature, relative humidity and wind from
the point of launch to the ground.
The RD93 transmits meteorological data via a 400 MHz
meteorological band telemetry link to the receiving system onboard the
aircraft. The receiving system can be the Vaisala AVAPS receiving system, which
tracks up to four RD93s simultaneously, or the Vaisala AVAPS Lite receiving
system, which tracks one RD93 at a time.
The onboard GPS receiver tracks the dropsonde’s horizontal
movement as it is borne by the wind. The Atmospheric Technology Division (ATD)
of the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) developed the hardware
and software for the Vaisala Dropsonde RD93, the Vaisala AVAPS and the Vaisala
AVAPS Lite. Production of the RD93 and AVAPS systems is licensed to Vaisala
Inc., USA.