European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 1g the stars and stripes tuesday. October 29. 1985 \ distance across when part tatty inflated Sis a lev a Al floating a expand six times a original tent fun a. Launch of research balloon takes place m two Steps first partially in haled balloon 14 released from True and rises Ever top o the transport vehicle holding pay Load of scientific instruments second Gondola is released and a Toon Beo in Simmion b b. Once a Bow balloon r Hazard trial can destroy to Lay encounter violent crosswinds and other c. At floating attitude i a balloon expands because of decreased atmospheric pressure when Ifie Mission is completed the Paioa s detached by radio control and return to he ground by Parachute balloon bargains lure scientists by Malcolm w. Browne new York times balloon is made of plastic thinner than that used to make Sandwich bags h Cost 45,000 plus $6,000 for helium. At launching bal Loon stands goo feet High and carries an aver age payload of 3,000 pounds. Balloon afloat Altitude. Length 4sofeet a s Tupil a ,.sigh," Back t link changed to costs of .p.-fp. Particle i c Copf air out i f a Riti is ire t in i j thit Humble balloon Ico i invention to a Cut rate tool Lor and nature of if 1 lilt centuries exploring 1 universe a the National Sci Mic balloon facility n g i t id in Stine. Ter. Balloon lary1 enough to Encl of More football fun Lils Art lifting uni Nann d scientific of two ions or to the of of us " ugh Jim o up to the 0, at Alt Ludt a of up to 30 mile advanced met Runions Are help inc Guient Tsuri door nine what Tho universe was like in the first few thousand years of its existence and How the Matler of which we ouro Elvig Are made Lias evolved since then. At or cruising Altitude the 50 or Mote big balloons launched each year from the rolling Green Farmland of East Texas hang suspended in the Golden Boundary layer Between the Earth s atmosphere and space. Above them the sky is Black and studded with stars even at midday and below Hern is the sunlit azure sea of air. At 130,000 Leet or so the air is so thin that it scarcely obstructs or distorts the streams of cosmic Ray particles Gamma rays and other signals arriving from Distant stars and galaxies. These extraterrestrial messengers Are destroyed by collisions with atmospheric molecules at lower altitudes but in the Region where the scientific balloons Fly the precious information streaming in from the Depths of space remains intact and available for analysis. The balloon experiments themselves Are at the cutting Edge of science said Alfred Shipley director of the facility. But besides yielding direct results these experiments often Point the Way in designing experiments to be flown by the space shuttle or planetary missions. The scientists at the big particle accelerators get valuable insights from balloon experiments too. Balloons Are not Only much cheaper than space missions they Are also faster and More convenient. When a balloon Experiment fails it can easily be pulled Down and founded in 1962. The National scientific balloon facility now employs about 70 permanent staff members and supports a Host of research programs. Recent balloon borne experiments launched from the Palestine Headquarters of the n . Have reaped Bountiful scientific harvests one of the most important achievements involving Palestine balloons was the 1979 discovery by a group headed by Robert a Golden of new Mexico state University that cosmic rays sometimes contain anti protons the anti matter equivalent of Ordinary protons. Golden is now pursuing the quest for cosmic Ray anti matter with another balloon borne Experiment at the facility s station in ainsworth., neb. in accomplishes. Of i hrs a since n balloons other important discoveries soon scientists of Palestine in Lieve for ins Lanci. That balloon borne apparatus May detect n very Peculiar Stati of Mailer predicted by theory Ordinary in Alt i consists mainly of such it avy a Tii Jos As the Proton in which Ifo .1 quarks Tho fundamental building blocks of heavy nuclear particles Are bound Loy Eicr by particles called cd turns. Most Phy gusts the Virvo that free quarks Union ibid d with other quarks t lavt.1 a Ejvor Benn detected but Inre is i Vidi no that in the Ultra dense matter of no Ufton stars quarks and gluon May be Appod apart creating a kind of hash called a quark gluon ii the i Cory is Correct quark gluon plasma May also exist in the instant of collision Between a heavy super energetic cosmic Ray particle and the n Cleus of some atom contained in a Dot Octor aboard a High flying balloon scientists plan to build earthbound Macl Ines or accelerating entire atomic nuclei to High enough energies to observe quark gluon plasma. But until such costly machines Are completed Tho Only source of the required nuclear projectiles is cosmic rays. Activity at Palestine has been feverish lately. Scientists whose experiments require Long duration flights try to launch their balloons in Early fall turnaround a period lasting a few Days or weeks in which the prevailing East winds of summer give Way to the westerlies of Winter. For a Brief time winds at All altitudes Are often nearly lulled so that a May remain aloft for a Day or two without Drifting beyond Range of the base s radio communication system or Over some populated area. Tho balloon facility created by a consortium of universities and other scientific institutions has a $7 million annual budget and is supported almost entirely by the National aeronautics and space administration. For a fee. The balloon facility provides nearly everything needed by visiting scientists including balloons that can remain aloft for up to two Days helium launching teams tracing aircraft and radar ground recovery teams and other support. The balloons themselves the largest flying objects Ever built Are expensive. Typical of the medium size balloons scheduled to Fly this fall is one built by International inc. Of Paris Texas to carry a 3.020 Pound Gamma Ray Experiment for California Institute of technology Cal tech. Only partly inflated at launching the balloon will stand More than goo feet High taller than the Washington Monument. When the balloon reaches its float Altitude of nearly feet the helium lilting Gas inside it will expand and fill it to a volume of 20 million cubic feet. This is roughly equivalent to the combined volume of 100 Goodyear blimps but Gigantic though such dimensions May be. Balloons three t Mes larger Are sometimes flown
