from Fairbanks, AK.  However, NSBF started negotiations with the Swedes to
launch LDB flights from Esrange in Kiruna, Sweden for flights going west to
northern Canada or Alaska for flight termination. The NASA Upper Atmosphere
Research (UAR) Program had requirements to launch payloads in the Arctic atmosphere for short flights. As flight operations from Kiruna became routine going
into the first decade of the 21st century, the relationship between NSBF, the NASA
Balloon Program, and the Swedes has proved to have been reliable and good for
LDB flights in the Arctic as well as UAR requirements.
The Balloon Facility Today
At the turn of the century, a number of management changes started. Dwight
Bawcom retired as NSBF Site Manager in October 2000. Phil Copeland became the
NSBF Site Manager until 2002 when he resigned and Danny Ball took over. Around
the same period, Mr. Harvey Needleman retired as the NASA Balloon Program
Manager with Mr. Steve Smith taking over that position. In 2005, Mr. Smith resigned
and Mr. David Pierce took over the management of the NASA Balloon Program.
Mr. Steve Hottman became the PSL-NMSU Program Manager of the contract managing the NSBF and providing engineering support to the NASA GSFC/WFF
Balloon Program Office. In October 2007, PSL-NMSU passed the 20 year anniversary of managing NSBF through three contract re-competitions.
Fig. A.1.1 The CSBF Facility in Palestine, TX.  In the aerial view of the Columbia
Scientific Satellite Facility, the circular area at the top is the launch pad. The runway of
Palestine Airport can be seen in the lower left. Photo courtesy of NASA/WFF
266 Appendix 1: A Brief History of the NSBF/CSBF