In the early years of the 21st century, Alice Spring was selected to perform the
first global flights of the NASA Ultra Long Duration Balloon class. After those
flights in 2003 there was a drop off in activity at the station, in part because the
inter-government agreement between Australia and the U.S. for such activities
ended but also because the NASA Balloon Program opted to cancel the flights
from Australia until 2007 in order to balance its accounts after the extraordinary
expenses for the improvements of the balloon facilities at McMurdo, Antarctica.
After the renewal of the agreement, in 2008 NASA’s Balloon Program started a
major upgrade of the launch facilities in the Seven Miles Area at Alice Springs.
This saw an additional Integration and Staging Building being erected alongside
the existing one. In addition, a 60 x 60 ft building was added with space for four
integration bays capable of handling big payloads. The older building would be
used as the Electronics Shop and Ground Telemetry Station as well as serving as
an integration building for two small payloads. Many of the existing structures
were also improved. The main construction ended in October 2009, and interior
outfitting was completed in early 2010.
While attempting to launch a balloon carrying the Nuclear Compton Telescope
on April 28, 2010, a wind change resulted in an almost fatal accident. The event was
filmed by a TV crew. The immediate result of the mishap was that the campaign
was curtailed and the science teams in the field returned to the U.S. After seeing the
preliminary data from the incident a NASA safety committee issued an order forbidding further flights of the NASA Balloon Program, even in U.S., pending a full
report and corrective actions to ensure that such an accident couldn’t happen again.
A video clip of the accident at Alice Sprigs on April 28, 2010 can be seen at:
https://youtu.be/1CDPWfLZYmY
A year later, in April 2011, NASA successfully launched a balloon with the High
Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) telescope from Alice Springs. Thereafter, the
site remained unused for balloon launches until 2015, when a team from Japan’s
Space Agency (JAXA) in cooperation with the New South Wales University and
the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) sent
aloft a gamma-ray experiment.
There were three flights out of Alice Springs in 2017, two in 2018 and none
since.
9.3.11 New Zealand
In New Zealand, the Civil Aviation Authority is a Crown entity responsible to the
Minister of Transport, and it operates within a system established and maintained
by the Civil Aviation Act 1990. A five member board appointed by the Minister
represents the public interest in civil aviation. The Authority is also responsible
for the governance of the Aviation Security Service. While they are aware of the
NASA flights and the Google Loon trial, they were not directly involved.
224 The Balloon World
first global flights of the NASA Ultra Long Duration Balloon class. After those
flights in 2003 there was a drop off in activity at the station, in part because the
inter-government agreement between Australia and the U.S. for such activities
ended but also because the NASA Balloon Program opted to cancel the flights
from Australia until 2007 in order to balance its accounts after the extraordinary
expenses for the improvements of the balloon facilities at McMurdo, Antarctica.
After the renewal of the agreement, in 2008 NASA’s Balloon Program started a
major upgrade of the launch facilities in the Seven Miles Area at Alice Springs.
This saw an additional Integration and Staging Building being erected alongside
the existing one. In addition, a 60 x 60 ft building was added with space for four
integration bays capable of handling big payloads. The older building would be
used as the Electronics Shop and Ground Telemetry Station as well as serving as
an integration building for two small payloads. Many of the existing structures
were also improved. The main construction ended in October 2009, and interior
outfitting was completed in early 2010.
While attempting to launch a balloon carrying the Nuclear Compton Telescope
on April 28, 2010, a wind change resulted in an almost fatal accident. The event was
filmed by a TV crew. The immediate result of the mishap was that the campaign
was curtailed and the science teams in the field returned to the U.S. After seeing the
preliminary data from the incident a NASA safety committee issued an order forbidding further flights of the NASA Balloon Program, even in U.S., pending a full
report and corrective actions to ensure that such an accident couldn’t happen again.
A video clip of the accident at Alice Sprigs on April 28, 2010 can be seen at:
https://youtu.be/1CDPWfLZYmY
A year later, in April 2011, NASA successfully launched a balloon with the High
Energy Replicated Optics (HERO) telescope from Alice Springs. Thereafter, the
site remained unused for balloon launches until 2015, when a team from Japan’s
Space Agency (JAXA) in cooperation with the New South Wales University and
the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) sent
aloft a gamma-ray experiment.
There were three flights out of Alice Springs in 2017, two in 2018 and none
since.
9.3.11 New Zealand
In New Zealand, the Civil Aviation Authority is a Crown entity responsible to the
Minister of Transport, and it operates within a system established and maintained
by the Civil Aviation Act 1990. A five member board appointed by the Minister
represents the public interest in civil aviation. The Authority is also responsible
for the governance of the Aviation Security Service. While they are aware of the
NASA flights and the Google Loon trial, they were not directly involved.
224 The Balloon World