Project Title

NASA Long Duration Balloon (LDB) support program

Summary

Event Number:
A-145-M
NSF / NASA Agreement

Program Director:
Dr. Vladimir Papitashvili

ASC POC/Implementer:
John Rand / Kaija Webster / Chad Naughton

Principal Investigator(s)

Hugo Franco
hugo.franco@nasa.gov
Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

Project Web Site:
https://www.csbf.nasa.gov

Location

Supporting Stations: McMurdo Station
Research Locations: McMurdo LDB Site

Description

The NASA / Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) provides the balloon platform and project oversight for long-duration, high-altitude, balloon launches out of a facility on the Ross Ice Shelf. Launches are scheduled during December and may extend to early January. The payloads consist of the science instruments, command, and control systems with solar or battery power units. The bulk of the data collected is stored on onboard hard drives, with a small amount of data sent by radio telemetry to the science team’s home institution. CSBF also coordinates the integration and launch of the test flight hand-launched balloon payload LAURA (Long durAtion evalUation solaR hand lAunch). The goal of LAURA is to test, validate, and raise the technology readiness level (TRL) of CSBF support equipment for future Science flights out of Antarctica and Sweden.

Field Season Overview

CSBF balloon launches typically occur in December/early January when the upper wind circulation wind sets up. On-site preparations begin mid-October with set-up of the launch equipment and assisting with the assembly of the science instruments. During this time, delivered cargo is unpacked, equipment is dewinterized, and flight systems assembled. The launch ready target date is 1 December. The balloons ascend to an altitude of between 115kft to 160kft and float around the Antarctic continent, typically returning to the McMurdo area usually in 8 to 15 days. The balloons are terminated over a suitable location and high priority items recovered as soon as possible. Full recoveries involving larger components are typically planned in following seasons. As of the date of this entry, two major payloads (the GUSTO and AESOP-Lite experiments) are planned for launch in the 2023-24 season.

Deploying Team Members