8
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. von Ehrenfried, Stratospheric Balloons, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68130-2_2
2
Stratospheric Balloon Descriptions
2.1 TYPES
NASA’s Balloon Program Office uses multiple types of balloons to lift science
payloads into the atmosphere. The same is true for both U.S. and international
commercial organizations. In general, a balloon used to launch a payload to an
altitude of 18 km (60,000 ft) or more is designed for stratospheric flight. A few are
even capable of briefly reaching into the lower part of the mesosphere, which is
generally considered to be 50-80 km (164,000-262,000 ft), although such an altitude is not currently sustainable. NASA officials have said the zero-pressure balloon called the “Big 60” set a new sustainable record by reaching 48.5 km (159,000
ft) during an 8 hour flight on August 17, 2018, traveling well into the stratosphere
and ascending 8 km (5 mi) higher than the next-largest balloon prototype.
Stratospheric science balloons are not weather balloons, although some
weather balloons can climb out of the troposphere (where the weather is) to
penetrate the stratosphere. A weather balloon, also known as a sounding balloon, is a type of high altitude balloon that carries instruments aloft to send back
information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by
using a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde. To obtain wind
data, they can be tracked by radar, radio direction finding, or navigation systems
such as the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). Balloons that must
remain at a constant altitude for long periods of time are known as transosondes.
Weather balloons that do not carry an instrument package are used to determine
upper-level winds and the heights of cloud layers. For such balloons, a theodolite or tracking station is used to track the balloon’s azimuth and elevation,
which are then converted to estimated wind speed and direction and/or cloud
height, as applicable.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. von Ehrenfried, Stratospheric Balloons, Springer Praxis Books,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68130-2_2
2
Stratospheric Balloon Descriptions
2.1 TYPES
NASA’s Balloon Program Office uses multiple types of balloons to lift science
payloads into the atmosphere. The same is true for both U.S. and international
commercial organizations. In general, a balloon used to launch a payload to an
altitude of 18 km (60,000 ft) or more is designed for stratospheric flight. A few are
even capable of briefly reaching into the lower part of the mesosphere, which is
generally considered to be 50-80 km (164,000-262,000 ft), although such an altitude is not currently sustainable. NASA officials have said the zero-pressure balloon called the “Big 60” set a new sustainable record by reaching 48.5 km (159,000
ft) during an 8 hour flight on August 17, 2018, traveling well into the stratosphere
and ascending 8 km (5 mi) higher than the next-largest balloon prototype.
Stratospheric science balloons are not weather balloons, although some
weather balloons can climb out of the troposphere (where the weather is) to
penetrate the stratosphere. A weather balloon, also known as a sounding balloon, is a type of high altitude balloon that carries instruments aloft to send back
information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed by
using a small, expendable measuring device called a radiosonde. To obtain wind
data, they can be tracked by radar, radio direction finding, or navigation systems
such as the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS). Balloons that must
remain at a constant altitude for long periods of time are known as transosondes.
Weather balloons that do not carry an instrument package are used to determine
upper-level winds and the heights of cloud layers. For such balloons, a theodolite or tracking station is used to track the balloon’s azimuth and elevation,
which are then converted to estimated wind speed and direction and/or cloud
height, as applicable.