Abstract As we celebrate the centennial year of the discovery of cosmic rays on a manned balloon, it seems appropriate to reflect on the evolution of ballooning and its scientific impact. Balloons have been used for scientific research since they were invented in France more than 200years ago. Ballooning was revolutionized in 1950 with the introduction of the so-called natural shape balloon with integral load tapes. This basic design has been used with more or less continuously improved materials for scientific balloon flights for more than a half century, including long-duration balloon (LDB) flights around Antarctica for the past two decades. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently developing the next generation super-pressure balloon that would enable extended duration missions above 99.5% of the Earth’s atmosphere at any latitude. The Astro2010 Decadal Survey report supports super-pressure balloon development and the giant step forward it offers with ultra-long-duration balloon (ULDB) flights at constant altitudes for about 100days.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Evolution of scientific ballooning and its impact on astrophysics research


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Advances in Space Research ; 53 , 10 ; 1405-1414


    Publication date :

    2013-01-01


    Size :

    10 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English





    Whither scientific ballooning?

    WINKER, J. | AIAA | 1991


    Scientific Ballooning Handbook

    A. L. Morris | NTIS | 1975


    Scientific ballooning - A survey

    MORRIS, A. | AIAA | 1968


    Scientific Ballooning in Brazil

    R. Varelacorrea | NTIS | 1988