Kirtland Air Force Base -- Successful signalssent in the stratosphere near Santa Rosa in September.
For the Air Force High-Altitude Balloon Program, the sentence above succinctly summarizes two test flights evaluating the Federal Aviation Administration's Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast payload at 102,000 feet above northern New Mexico.
Residing in a small box onboard the 165 feet in diameter helium-filled balloon, the FAA's evaluated platform performed as expected in near space by continuously reporting its position rather than responding to interrogations from an air traffic control center. The technology's benefits involve increasing the pilot's situational awareness by facilitating direct reporting of the air traffic around him in a cockpit display without having to use current ground radar systems.
By employing balloons to transport the innovative apparatus for research purposes rather than placing it as a non-space-certified payload on a sounding rocket, the FAA saved thousands of dollars, acquired valuable data to enhance or modify the ADS-B and recovered the equipment for continued use.
Operational since the 1940s, the High-Altitude Balloon Program, led by the Air Force
Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, has flown various scientific experiments ranging in weight from ounces to tons at 100,000 plus feet, above 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. In the past two years, the project has conducted more than 10 missions from the Santa Rosa, N.M., Belen, N.M., and Holbrook, Ariz., municipal
airports.
"The High-Altitude Balloon Program is a historical asset that still has current applications. We're able to fly payloads for several hours to a few days in the stratosphere to test them in an environment similar to space," said Maj. Kenyon Orme, Air Force High-Altitude Balloon Program manager. "We can do it for less money than a space launch would cost and we have the added advantage of returning the hardware to the customer. We provide pre-space-launch reliability that equates to postlaunch capability."
In late September, the program team of 20 assigned to Kirtland and Holloman Air Force Bases, N.M., ventured to Santa Rosa to conduct the ADS-B experiment operations. On Sept. 22, the crew reported at 1 a.m. and established the ground control station. Three hours later, clouds rolled in and the flight was scrubbed.
Two days later, the Air Force High-Altitude Balloon professionals achieved a successful
launch. It took almost 90 minutes for the helium- inflated system to reach 100,000 feet. After a couple of hours of testing the FAA's platform, both the expendable balloon and the
ADS-B landed 50 to 60 miles northeast of the liftoff site.
During the four-hour flight, Maj. Orme and his staff communicated with the experiment
through radio links that offer receive and transmit capabilities. While operating in the stratosphere, the balloon and its onboard platform experienced temperatures down to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
On Sept. 26, the process repeated itself and the program accomplished a second flight
assessing the ADS-B.
"The FAA did not have to send anyone out to run the experiment on the two test missions, so they were pleased with the costeffectiveness of the flights. We started our planning process with them a few months before the balloons launched from Santa Rosa," said Maj. Orme. "Our program has the potential to schedule flights two months after the customer's initial inquiry, and we strive to do so ... to accommodate their specific requirements in a timely manner."
The next Air Force high-altitude balloon flights are tentatively scheduled for 2011.
" I r e a l l y enj oy being able to lear n about the experiments we f ly and it is a lot of fun to lead a program from the testflight planning phase through the approval process to the actual f light event ," Maj . Orme said. "I have the unique opportunity to experience the whole process from inception to operation."