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Super Pressure Balloons

Extended duration stratospheric flights of large science instruments at mid latitudes is a goal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Balloon Program Office. Balloon flights near the poles fly in almost constant sunlight. Balloon flying at mid-latitude will experience day night cycles which limit the flight duration of conventional balloons. Super Pressure Balloons offer the promise of extended duration mid-latitude flights. The goal of these flights is to lift a ton of science to greater than 33.5 km (~110,000 ft).

Project Approach

Development of a large pumpkin shaped Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) that will fly at a near constant pressure altitude for extended periods. Float altitude excursions can be reduced by an order of magnitude or more and would not require ballast for altitude stabilization to be flown, even in mid-latitudes compared to the traditional Zero Pressure Balloons. The project approach has focused on incremental steps up in balloon volume and payload carrying capability toward the defined program level requirements.

• Background and Goals
  • Background for the Super Pressure Balloon Development
  • Super Pressure Development Goals
• Super Pressure Balloon Design
  • Super Pressure Balloon Design Approach
  • The Differences Between a Zero Pressure Balloon and a Super Pressure Balloon
  • Construction, Modeling, and Analysis
  • Ground Model Testing
• Super Balloon Test Flights
  • Test Flight 540NT - Ft. Sumner Deployment Test Flight, 6.2 MCF Balloon
  • Test Flight 540NT - Ft. Sumner Deployment Test Flight, 6.2 MCF Balloon
  • Test Flight 555NT - Sweden Deployment Test Flight, 6.2 MCF Balloon
  • Test Flight 586NT - Ft. Sumner Deployment Test Flight, 2 MCF Balloon
  • Test Flight 616NT - Antarctica 22 Day Duration Test Flight, 14 MCF Balloon
  • Test Flight 631NT - Sweden Deployment Test Flight, 18 MCF Balloon
  • Antarctica December 2013 - Super Pressure Balloon Duration Test Flight, 18 MCF Balloon
• Advanced Support Systems
  • CSBF Flight Systems
  • Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP)
  • Flight Trajectory Control

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