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Sometimes NASA flies balloons.
The westward flight from Esrange [Sweden - RJ] to Alaska will test NASA's new long-lasting balloon vehicle and carries a 5,940-pound telescope at an altitude of 25 miles for six to nine days.
These are huge balloons. For example, an NFL football field is 300 feet long.
The balloon is 396 feet high and 462 feet in diameter. It is made of advanced materials and uses a pumpkin-shaped design to achieve flights up to 100 days. It holds up to 1.3 million cubic yards of helium.
Some interesting stuff happening. Who knew Sweden had a space corporation?
Posted by Ted at June 13, 2005 04:42 AMCool stuff,Ted.I actually belong to a balloon research group on Yahoo.I remember a couple of years ago a few fellas tied to do a balloon assisted launch at one of the LDRS launched but winds canceled it.I wonder if they ever got it off the ground?
Posted by: Russ at June 13, 2005 08:09 PM