Mission: T01
Summary:
The first tethered test was interrupted by an
accident where the balloon escaped from the filling system and the
launch director suffered lacerations on his hand while stopping the
balloon's ascent. Two things caused the accident: first, the three
stack lines were not tied down and the other is that the balloon
was able to escape from the fill adapter.
Even though the launch was stopped early, many aspects of the launch procedure were validated.
Flight Information
Date: | June 4, 2003 7:30 AM |
Launch Site: | St. Paul Campus Research Plots :: Map :: Web Page |
Launch Coordinates: | Latitude: 44.98 N, Longitude: 93.23 W, Altitude: 237 Meters ASL |
Personel:
Mission Manager: | Greg Nelson |
Launch Director: | Kevin Sweeney |
Flight Director: | Stephanie Soffa |
Launch Team: | Jennifer Halsted, Dave Hultman |
Lessons learned:
- The defined procedures should be followed at all times.
- The fill adapter needs to be securely attached to the neck of the balloon. Idealy, the full lift of the balloon should not be concentrated on the neck of the balloon.
- Measuring lift should be done with a hanging scale which will be attached to the balloon neck above the fill adapter
- Different line should be used for the stack lines instead of the thin Dacron.
Pictures:
Web site maintained by
Adam Thoreen
Last updated: August 26, 2004