NASA’s New Balloon Mission to Study Stars
A balloon taller than a 30-story building and wider than 100 yards will be built by NASA to lift astronomy instruments near the edge of space.
The balloon will carry more weight higher and fly longer than any other scientific balloon ever made, said Jack Tueller, a Goddard Space Flight Center astrophysicist and chief project scientist for the Ultra Long Duration Balloon Project.
The balloon would lift about 3,000 pounds more than 22 miles high and would stay aloft for 100 days, long enough to circle the globe about five times if winds are right.
The balloon will conduct experiments for about $1 million, much less than the cheapest of NASA’s rocket launches, the Pegasus, which costs $15 million to $18 million, Tueller said.
Instruments used in a balloon mission can be recovered and flown again, Tueller said, whereas those on rocket-launched satellites are rarely recovered.
The balloon mission is expected to be ready by 2000.
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