NASA engineers complete 17-day balloon flight, testing a new “super pressure” technology
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NASA engineers have decided to end a flight test of a new “super pressure” balloon after flying for seventeen days and circling Antarctica.
While the mission successfully met its minimum requirements for qualification of the balloon, the team had been monitoring minor performance issues and suspected that the system had a small leak. The balloon was maintaining its predicted float altitude during daytime hours; however, it started to show considerable drops in altitude, especially as it passed through areas of colder temperatures like storm systems.
…Teams continued to closely monitor the health and performance of the balloon as it continued flight, and its ability to safely make it to the next predicted land crossing in South America for recovery of the balloon and payload. However, at approximately four additional days until land, all ballast expended to manage altitude stability, and recent altitude excursions during night periods down to 60,000 feet, continued flight became unlikely. NASA ultimately decided to terminate the flight to ensure the greatest level of control and safety during descent. “Due to the mission’s trajectory coupled with system performance, termination and recovery at the next land over flight was not possible due to unacceptable public risk,” said Garde.
This first flight is part of a two-flight test program this season, with the second super pressure balloon already in flight. Like the first, it is aiming for a 100 day flight circling the globe at the high mid-latitudes comparable to its launch site in New Zealand. You can track its flight in real time here.
As with all NASA test programs like this, the real question will be whether this technology will be used for any practical purpose once the program is completed, or whether it will be shelved away and forgotten. For most such programs, it is the latter that occurs. In this case however there are a number of companies attempting to make money selling tourists flights on less sophisticated high altitude balloons, and those companies might be interested in adopting this technology. There are also several balloon companies that provide surveillance data for the military which might be interested as well.
Click for original map
NASA engineers have decided to end a flight test of a new “super pressure” balloon after flying for seventeen days and circling Antarctica.
While the mission successfully met its minimum requirements for qualification of the balloon, the team had been monitoring minor performance issues and suspected that the system had a small leak. The balloon was maintaining its predicted float altitude during daytime hours; however, it started to show considerable drops in altitude, especially as it passed through areas of colder temperatures like storm systems.
…Teams continued to closely monitor the health and performance of the balloon as it continued flight, and its ability to safely make it to the next predicted land crossing in South America for recovery of the balloon and payload. However, at approximately four additional days until land, all ballast expended to manage altitude stability, and recent altitude excursions during night periods down to 60,000 feet, continued flight became unlikely. NASA ultimately decided to terminate the flight to ensure the greatest level of control and safety during descent. “Due to the mission’s trajectory coupled with system performance, termination and recovery at the next land over flight was not possible due to unacceptable public risk,” said Garde.
This first flight is part of a two-flight test program this season, with the second super pressure balloon already in flight. Like the first, it is aiming for a 100 day flight circling the globe at the high mid-latitudes comparable to its launch site in New Zealand. You can track its flight in real time here.
As with all NASA test programs like this, the real question will be whether this technology will be used for any practical purpose once the program is completed, or whether it will be shelved away and forgotten. For most such programs, it is the latter that occurs. In this case however there are a number of companies attempting to make money selling tourists flights on less sophisticated high altitude balloons, and those companies might be interested in adopting this technology. There are also several balloon companies that provide surveillance data for the military which might be interested as well.
