9.3.8 India
India’s atmospheric exploration and cosmic ray studies programs were the main
rationales for the start of ballooning activity in that country. It was in the 1940’s
that Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) became a pioneer in the field, sending scientific apparatus to altitudes of
25-30 km (15-20 mi) using clusters of up to 60 hydrogen filled rubber balloons.
The aim of these early experiments was to study the secondary cosmic radiation
by using emulsion plates to record the tracks made by these particles penetrating
the atmosphere. The first successful polyethylene balloon flight was launched in
April 1959 from the Osmania University Campus in Hyderabad, which became
the main balloon site in the ensuing decade. Hyderabad is the capital of southern
India’s Telangana state, and is a major center for the technology industry.
In the mid 1960’s, after more than 170 flights the next logical step was to build
a dedicated launch base. After careful consideration, a decision was made to create the National Balloon Facility (NBF) on land that belonged to TIFR in a thenrural lowly populated area east of Secunderabad – the “twin city” of Hyderabad.
This became operative in December 1969 with the successful launch of a balloon. It incorporates all aspects of scientific ballooning: balloon design and fabrication, payload integration with telemetry, telecommand and other
instrumentation, and balloon launch, tracking, data collection, flight control, and
recovery of payload. On April 13, 2018 it achieved the landmark of 500 scientific balloon launches.
In recent years, an international team sponsored by NASA and the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) has been studying the Asian Tropopause Aerosol
Layer (ATAL), a phenomenon of enhanced aerosol particles that appears in the
summertime. The Balloon ATAL project (BATAL) is collecting data in order to
better understand this seasonal atmospheric phenomenon and its potential effect
on water resources, ozone, weather and climate. In 2019 the team collected data
on trace gases and the properties of aerosols and ice crystals. NASA scientists at
the Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, joined their Indian counterparts to
understand how pollution in Asia is transported into the stratosphere during the
active summer monsoon, an annual phenomenon that brings humid weather and
torrential rainfall to India and Southeast Asia. The BATAL team conducted 10 balloon flights with payloads to measure temperature, pressure, ozone, nitrogen
oxide, water vapor and aerosols from the ground to the stratosphere. Continuing
BATAL research has made more than 80 launches of various instruments from
three locations in India (Gadanki, Hyderabad and Varanasi) and one from Saudi
Arabia. The scope of the research increased when other organizations joined the
international effort.
9.3 International Organizations 221
India’s atmospheric exploration and cosmic ray studies programs were the main
rationales for the start of ballooning activity in that country. It was in the 1940’s
that Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) became a pioneer in the field, sending scientific apparatus to altitudes of
25-30 km (15-20 mi) using clusters of up to 60 hydrogen filled rubber balloons.
The aim of these early experiments was to study the secondary cosmic radiation
by using emulsion plates to record the tracks made by these particles penetrating
the atmosphere. The first successful polyethylene balloon flight was launched in
April 1959 from the Osmania University Campus in Hyderabad, which became
the main balloon site in the ensuing decade. Hyderabad is the capital of southern
India’s Telangana state, and is a major center for the technology industry.
In the mid 1960’s, after more than 170 flights the next logical step was to build
a dedicated launch base. After careful consideration, a decision was made to create the National Balloon Facility (NBF) on land that belonged to TIFR in a thenrural lowly populated area east of Secunderabad – the “twin city” of Hyderabad.
This became operative in December 1969 with the successful launch of a balloon. It incorporates all aspects of scientific ballooning: balloon design and fabrication, payload integration with telemetry, telecommand and other
instrumentation, and balloon launch, tracking, data collection, flight control, and
recovery of payload. On April 13, 2018 it achieved the landmark of 500 scientific balloon launches.
In recent years, an international team sponsored by NASA and the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) has been studying the Asian Tropopause Aerosol
Layer (ATAL), a phenomenon of enhanced aerosol particles that appears in the
summertime. The Balloon ATAL project (BATAL) is collecting data in order to
better understand this seasonal atmospheric phenomenon and its potential effect
on water resources, ozone, weather and climate. In 2019 the team collected data
on trace gases and the properties of aerosols and ice crystals. NASA scientists at
the Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, joined their Indian counterparts to
understand how pollution in Asia is transported into the stratosphere during the
active summer monsoon, an annual phenomenon that brings humid weather and
torrential rainfall to India and Southeast Asia. The BATAL team conducted 10 balloon flights with payloads to measure temperature, pressure, ozone, nitrogen
oxide, water vapor and aerosols from the ground to the stratosphere. Continuing
BATAL research has made more than 80 launches of various instruments from
three locations in India (Gadanki, Hyderabad and Varanasi) and one from Saudi
Arabia. The scope of the research increased when other organizations joined the
international effort.
9.3 International Organizations 221