solar flare particle acceleration and transport. These payloads search for answers
to fundamental questions regarding hard X-rays, gamma-rays, the distribution of
relativistic electrons, and how and why these vary with space and time.
Although stratospheric balloons have their advantages, in particular being
above 99.5% of the atmosphere which absorbs so many wavelengths of light, they
also impose disadvantages, most notably being at the mercy of the wind and
extreme cold as well as day/night cycles. Some disadvantages have been compensated for by flying payloads at the poles, where the polar vortex circulations tend
to fly the balloons in giant circles and give their operators the advantage of controlling, to some extent, the landing area. In the case of Antarctica, the balloons fly
during austral summer with constant daylight, avoiding the day/night cycles that
cause temperature swings and related altitude fluctuations. The mission designers
can compensate for the extreme cold of the upper troposphere by flying higher
into the stratosphere to altitudes where the decline in temperature ceases and starts
to warm up. Commercial balloons typically fly at much lower altitudes where they
take advantage of the varying winds for trajectory control and are closer to their
intended targets.
This prime location – above the atmosphere but below orbit – is the domain of
balloon science. Whether a scientist wants to look up to the heavens or down to
Earth this is the place to discover the unknown or to better investigate what you
reckoned you knew. Sometimes the scientist just needs to make a few “tweaks” to
the subsequent payload, sometimes a new technology allows the instrument to
operate more precisely, sometimes a faster computer improves the data collection
and processing or enhances the statistics, adding more credibility to the solution.
Whatever the rationale, scientists are a greedy bunch seeking a little more of this
and that, and they are fed by their insatiable quest to better understand the known
and discover the unknown.
These are just a few examples of how balloon-borne instruments and supporting payloads add to the knowledge base of many scientific disciplines and play
roles in training experimental space scientists and engineers as well as developing
new instruments for future spaceflight.
Another amazing aspect of stratospheric balloons is the entry of the commercial world into the business of applying them to a variety of commercial applications. One such company, Loon once had a fulltime world-wide operation but alas,
they hadn’t found a way to get costs down low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business. Their application is the flight of the equivalent of a cell tower
(or maybe a group of cell towers) at stratospheric altitude over remote and/or
disaster areas that have no internet access. It proved its worth in Puerto Rica during hurricane Maria in September 2017, which devastated the island and caused a
major humanitarian crisis. Loon first developed the concept 6 years earlier, tested
Conclusions 253
to fundamental questions regarding hard X-rays, gamma-rays, the distribution of
relativistic electrons, and how and why these vary with space and time.
Although stratospheric balloons have their advantages, in particular being
above 99.5% of the atmosphere which absorbs so many wavelengths of light, they
also impose disadvantages, most notably being at the mercy of the wind and
extreme cold as well as day/night cycles. Some disadvantages have been compensated for by flying payloads at the poles, where the polar vortex circulations tend
to fly the balloons in giant circles and give their operators the advantage of controlling, to some extent, the landing area. In the case of Antarctica, the balloons fly
during austral summer with constant daylight, avoiding the day/night cycles that
cause temperature swings and related altitude fluctuations. The mission designers
can compensate for the extreme cold of the upper troposphere by flying higher
into the stratosphere to altitudes where the decline in temperature ceases and starts
to warm up. Commercial balloons typically fly at much lower altitudes where they
take advantage of the varying winds for trajectory control and are closer to their
intended targets.
This prime location – above the atmosphere but below orbit – is the domain of
balloon science. Whether a scientist wants to look up to the heavens or down to
Earth this is the place to discover the unknown or to better investigate what you
reckoned you knew. Sometimes the scientist just needs to make a few “tweaks” to
the subsequent payload, sometimes a new technology allows the instrument to
operate more precisely, sometimes a faster computer improves the data collection
and processing or enhances the statistics, adding more credibility to the solution.
Whatever the rationale, scientists are a greedy bunch seeking a little more of this
and that, and they are fed by their insatiable quest to better understand the known
and discover the unknown.
These are just a few examples of how balloon-borne instruments and supporting payloads add to the knowledge base of many scientific disciplines and play
roles in training experimental space scientists and engineers as well as developing
new instruments for future spaceflight.
Another amazing aspect of stratospheric balloons is the entry of the commercial world into the business of applying them to a variety of commercial applications. One such company, Loon once had a fulltime world-wide operation but alas,
they hadn’t found a way to get costs down low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business. Their application is the flight of the equivalent of a cell tower
(or maybe a group of cell towers) at stratospheric altitude over remote and/or
disaster areas that have no internet access. It proved its worth in Puerto Rica during hurricane Maria in September 2017, which devastated the island and caused a
major humanitarian crisis. Loon first developed the concept 6 years earlier, tested
Conclusions 253