Dominator fully loaded! The ultimate tornado research machine!
The engineers of Hyperion Technology Group in Tupelo, MS (
www.HyperionTechGroup.com) have been working day and night for the last 72 hours to install the mobile air cannon array and upgraded radar in time for the Northern Plains madness that is about to ensue. The array consists of 10 cannons, each capable of shooting instrument probes into the heart of a tornado to measure temperature, pressure, and moisture at an astounding frequency of 5 measurements per second. Since the goal is to measure the vertical profile of these variables from near the ground to high up inside the funnel, the role of the cannons is to "deposit" the probes just high enough above the vehicle so the parachutes will catch the tornado's updraft and be lifted high above the ground. When deploying the probes, the air cannons sound like the cross between a Sperm Whale and a tuba as the over 100 psi of air pressure will force the parachute probe upward through the tube. We will have ten shots for each reload, launched by pressing the large red button inside the
Dominator pictured above to the right of the cannons. Contained in the back of the Dominator is the compressor that fills the holding tanks before launching the probes, as well as the "brain" computer that can be used to remotely control all our science equipment (radar, cannons, etc) from a follow vehicle. Pictured at far right is the probe microchip containing the GPS sensor for tracking, the sd card to store the data, and the temperature/moisture/pressure sensors. We will have the ability to launch all ten probes into the funnel, track them on our computer in real-time and watch them circulate inside the tornado. Similar to Twister but in real-life! Below are several pictures of the cannon setup on the Dominator, as well as some action shots of the Hyperion team while they installed our science equipment. Also, shown below is a video of our first test launch in the Hyperion parking lot before driving all night to our target in South Dakota. If we intercept a tornado tomorrow and during the rest of the storm season we'll finally be able to collect our first full data set, which was the primary goal of designing the Dominator in the first place. Stay tuned!!!!
http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1218-dominator-fully-loaded-the-ultimate-tornado-research-machine
