Increased balloon reliability issues, particularly with heavy payloads in the
early 1980’s, resulted in improving the materials testing capability at NSBF.
Additionally, increased monitoring of film extrusion and balloon manufacturing
was started on a full time basis. A NASA program to create a stable of standard
balloon designs was started along with qualification of balloon films to improve
reliability. A NASA designed test program to qualify film and balloon designs was
instituted with both current film extruders and balloon manufacturers Winzen
International and Raven Industries. By the mid-1980’s, the Raven “Astrofilm-E”
and Winzen “SF-372” were NASA certified as a film for qualified balloon designs.
The increased number of catastrophic balloon failures in the early 1980’s created operational problems in being able to separate the payload/parachute from
the balloon so the falling balloon did not foul the payload parachute. This manually commanded separation operation from the ground had to be performed within
a few seconds of the balloon failure. A flight system “burst detector” was developed by NSBF engineers to make this operation automatic. This hardware device
was placed at the top of the parachute near the explosive cutters which caused the
parachute/payload separation from the balloon. By a spring loaded microswitch,
loss of lift from the balloon was detected immediately and triggered the explosive
cutter. The “burst detector” continues to be used on flights systems after 25 years
of reliable operation.
Balloon operations in the 1980’s involved a trend toward more remote and foreign based launches. Flight campaigns were supported in Brazil, Kauai in Hawaii,
and South Carolina in 1981. In 1982 there were flight campaigns to Greenville,
South Carolina, Thompson, Canada, and Malden, Missouri. The occurrence in
1987 of Supernova SN1987A resulted in a total of 24 flights in six campaigns
from Alice Springs, Australia in support of gamma-ray experiments. And Fort
Sumner, New Mexico had been selected as a launch site for stratospheric “turnaround” flights versus Palestine, after a decision was made to eliminate flights
traveling east of Palestine due to safety issues on payload and balloon recovery.
During the 1980’s several principal investigators in the science community
were advocating the necessity of longer duration balloon flights to satisfy their
science requirements. A minimum of five-day flights at altitudes above 100,000
feet drove the NSBF to plan for two zero-pressure flights from Alice Springs,
Australia with a planned termination in Brazil, South America.
The total number of balloon flights per year was averaging around 50 in the
early 1980’s. This number decreased over the decade with 46 flights in fiscal 1988,
22 flights in fiscal 1989, and 27 flights in fiscal 1990. The tendency during this
same period was for larger, heavier, and more complicated payloads involving
physics, gamma-ray, and infrared astronomy experiments with fewer atmospheric
science experiments. By the end of the decade, the success rate of balloons and
science was approaching 95%.
Appendix 1: A Brief History of the NSBF/CSBF 261
early 1980’s, resulted in improving the materials testing capability at NSBF.
Additionally, increased monitoring of film extrusion and balloon manufacturing
was started on a full time basis. A NASA program to create a stable of standard
balloon designs was started along with qualification of balloon films to improve
reliability. A NASA designed test program to qualify film and balloon designs was
instituted with both current film extruders and balloon manufacturers Winzen
International and Raven Industries. By the mid-1980’s, the Raven “Astrofilm-E”
and Winzen “SF-372” were NASA certified as a film for qualified balloon designs.
The increased number of catastrophic balloon failures in the early 1980’s created operational problems in being able to separate the payload/parachute from
the balloon so the falling balloon did not foul the payload parachute. This manually commanded separation operation from the ground had to be performed within
a few seconds of the balloon failure. A flight system “burst detector” was developed by NSBF engineers to make this operation automatic. This hardware device
was placed at the top of the parachute near the explosive cutters which caused the
parachute/payload separation from the balloon. By a spring loaded microswitch,
loss of lift from the balloon was detected immediately and triggered the explosive
cutter. The “burst detector” continues to be used on flights systems after 25 years
of reliable operation.
Balloon operations in the 1980’s involved a trend toward more remote and foreign based launches. Flight campaigns were supported in Brazil, Kauai in Hawaii,
and South Carolina in 1981. In 1982 there were flight campaigns to Greenville,
South Carolina, Thompson, Canada, and Malden, Missouri. The occurrence in
1987 of Supernova SN1987A resulted in a total of 24 flights in six campaigns
from Alice Springs, Australia in support of gamma-ray experiments. And Fort
Sumner, New Mexico had been selected as a launch site for stratospheric “turnaround” flights versus Palestine, after a decision was made to eliminate flights
traveling east of Palestine due to safety issues on payload and balloon recovery.
During the 1980’s several principal investigators in the science community
were advocating the necessity of longer duration balloon flights to satisfy their
science requirements. A minimum of five-day flights at altitudes above 100,000
feet drove the NSBF to plan for two zero-pressure flights from Alice Springs,
Australia with a planned termination in Brazil, South America.
The total number of balloon flights per year was averaging around 50 in the
early 1980’s. This number decreased over the decade with 46 flights in fiscal 1988,
22 flights in fiscal 1989, and 27 flights in fiscal 1990. The tendency during this
same period was for larger, heavier, and more complicated payloads involving
physics, gamma-ray, and infrared astronomy experiments with fewer atmospheric
science experiments. By the end of the decade, the success rate of balloons and
science was approaching 95%.
Appendix 1: A Brief History of the NSBF/CSBF 261