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High-altitude balloons or stratostats are usually uncrewed balloons typically filled with helium or hydrogen and released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 18 and 37 km (11 and 23 mi; 59,000 and 121,000 ft) above sea level. In 2013, a balloon named BS 13-08 reached a record altitude of 53.7 km (33.4 mi; 176,000 ft). [1]
The balloon is usually filled with hydrogen, though helium – a more expensive, but viable option nonetheless – is also frequently used. The ascent rate can be controlled by the amount of gas with which the balloon is filled, usually at around 300 metres per minute (980 ft/min).
A zero-pressure balloon (ZP) is a style of aerostatic balloon that is unsealed at its base, creating a mechanism by which lifting gas can vent out the bottom of the balloon when the balloon becomes full, allowing the balloon to float at stable altitudes. During the day the gas heats up in the sun, and at night the gas cools causing them to descend.
Flight profile of super-pressure balloons versus zero-pressure balloons. CSBF conventional and long duration (LDB) balloons are made of 20 micrometer thick polyethylene film, and at float have a diameter of up to 140 meters (460 feet) and a volume of up to 1.12 million m 3 (40 million cu ft). The balloons are filled with helium gas, can carry ...
Red Bull Stratos was a high-altitude skydiving project involving Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner.On 14 October 2012, Baumgartner flew approximately 39 kilometres (24 mi) [1] [2] [3] into the stratosphere over New Mexico, United States, in a helium balloon before free falling in a pressure suit and then parachuting to Earth. [4]
Conversely, if the balloon cools and drops, it becomes necessary to release ballast. Since both ballast and gas are finite, there is a limit to how long a variable-volume balloon can compensate in order to stabilize its altitude. In contrast, a superpressure balloon experiences smaller changes in altitude without compensation maneuvers. [2]
FILE - A solider wears a U.S. Space Force uniform during a ceremony for U.S. Air Force airmen transitioning to U.S. Space Force guardian designations at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Feb. 12, 2021.
On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters (April 19, 1949 – October 6, 1993) made a 45-minute flight in a homemade aerostat made of an ordinary lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons. [2] The aircraft rose to an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m), drifted from the point of liftoff in San Pedro, California , and entered controlled airspace ...