Some commercial companies have developed their own launch site capabilities
and have made arrangements with their sponsor countries. For example, Loon
launches many flights from Puerto Rico, Kenya and other countries where they
support the government by providing internet services. World View Enterprises
launches balloons from their Tucson, AZ facility. Those wanting more northern
latitudes use sites in Norway, Sweden and Canada. There are also launches from
sites in France, Spain, India, Hawaii, China and Japan.
Small balloons such as weather balloons are launched from hundreds of locations all over the world. It is interesting that high school and college students often
use small balloons for experiments that are launched locally, in coordination with
air traffic control.
The Future
There are balloons planned for the near future whose wide-field-sky imaging
capability meets or exceeds that of the Hubble Space Telescope, expanding on that
heritage of discovery at a fraction of the operational cost. The operational cost of
Hubble is $98 million per annum and it is over subscribed. So scientists are
employing the latest in balloon design and instrumentation to achieve their objectives. Because many flights were canceled in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic there is a backlog for the 2021 manifest. Antarctic flights must fly in the
austral summer, hence there is a relatively short window in December and January
for observation and recovery of their experiments.
Commerce
While science teams are developing the latest designs and preparing for the next
season of ballooning, there is another group who are new users of balloons: the
“commercial” balloonists. Balloons have progressed into many aspects of the
world of commerce. Once balloon meteorologists and engineers had conquered
the winds they were no longer at their mercy. The hot air balloonist would drift
anywhere and everywhere, even into power lines, houses and lakes, but modern
balloonists have learned to exploit the winds to their advantage. Even Columbus
knew he had to use the wind for both speed and navigation on the ocean. These
new balloonists have used the latest state of the art in meteorology to pick and
choose the best altitudes to navigate to their desired targets and even to “persist”
in the vicinity of their targets. In effect balloons are now providing a needed and
marketable set of services, rather than just drifting with the wind and acquiring
scientific data along the way. Nevertheless, the flight controllers cannot always
tame the winds and many a payload has been lost at sea.
Delivering internet services to unserved and underserved regions of the world,
the Loon Project is somewhat representative of balloon commerce up thru 2020.
Introduction 5
and have made arrangements with their sponsor countries. For example, Loon
launches many flights from Puerto Rico, Kenya and other countries where they
support the government by providing internet services. World View Enterprises
launches balloons from their Tucson, AZ facility. Those wanting more northern
latitudes use sites in Norway, Sweden and Canada. There are also launches from
sites in France, Spain, India, Hawaii, China and Japan.
Small balloons such as weather balloons are launched from hundreds of locations all over the world. It is interesting that high school and college students often
use small balloons for experiments that are launched locally, in coordination with
air traffic control.
The Future
There are balloons planned for the near future whose wide-field-sky imaging
capability meets or exceeds that of the Hubble Space Telescope, expanding on that
heritage of discovery at a fraction of the operational cost. The operational cost of
Hubble is $98 million per annum and it is over subscribed. So scientists are
employing the latest in balloon design and instrumentation to achieve their objectives. Because many flights were canceled in 2020 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic there is a backlog for the 2021 manifest. Antarctic flights must fly in the
austral summer, hence there is a relatively short window in December and January
for observation and recovery of their experiments.
Commerce
While science teams are developing the latest designs and preparing for the next
season of ballooning, there is another group who are new users of balloons: the
“commercial” balloonists. Balloons have progressed into many aspects of the
world of commerce. Once balloon meteorologists and engineers had conquered
the winds they were no longer at their mercy. The hot air balloonist would drift
anywhere and everywhere, even into power lines, houses and lakes, but modern
balloonists have learned to exploit the winds to their advantage. Even Columbus
knew he had to use the wind for both speed and navigation on the ocean. These
new balloonists have used the latest state of the art in meteorology to pick and
choose the best altitudes to navigate to their desired targets and even to “persist”
in the vicinity of their targets. In effect balloons are now providing a needed and
marketable set of services, rather than just drifting with the wind and acquiring
scientific data along the way. Nevertheless, the flight controllers cannot always
tame the winds and many a payload has been lost at sea.
Delivering internet services to unserved and underserved regions of the world,
the Loon Project is somewhat representative of balloon commerce up thru 2020.
Introduction 5