Project Title

NASA Long Duration Balloon (LDB) support program

Summary

Event Number:
A-145-M
NSF / NASA Agreement

Program Director:
Dr. Vladimir Papitashvili

ASC POC/Implementer:
John Rand / Kaija Webster / Chad Naughton

Principal Investigator(s)

Hugo Franco
hugo.franco@nasa.gov
Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

Project Web Site:
https://www.csbf.nasa.gov

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo LDB Site

Description

NASA/CSBF provides the balloon platform and project oversite for high-altitude scientific balloon launches taking place at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. This season up to 3 payloads are being considered for launch during the month of December: - GAPS (General AntiParticle Spectrometer on 40mcf balloon) - ASTHROS (Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolutions Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths on 40mcf balloon) - Salter Test Flight Universal (Including Ice Dragon Drops, EMIDSS, BAS-M, MARSBOx, ANIHALA, and BIGS piggyback payloads on 11.8mcf balloon.) The payloads consist of science instruments, command/control systems and solar/battery power units. The bulk of the data collected is stored on onboard hard drives, with a small amount of data transmitted to ground based receiving stations via radio telemetry. After the flight has been completed recovery support is required in order to disassemble the instrument and return data/equipment from the field to McMurdo Station for northbound shipping to the United States.

Field Season Overview

CSBF will launch the balloons from the Long Duration Balloon site around the beginning of December when the upper wind circulation wind is estimated to set up. CSBF operations will begin mid-October setting up the launch equipment and assisting with the assembly of the science instruments. Launch ready date will be early December to take advantage of the wind circulation. The balloons will ascend to an altitude of between 115kft to 130kft and float around the Antarctic continent returning to the McMurdo Station area usually in 8 to 15 days, in some cases longer. The balloons will then be terminated over a suitable location and recovered.

Deploying Team Members