NASA's super-pressure balloon project has once again fallen short of its 100-day target, but still managed to set some records on the way
The organization cut down the inflatable in Peru throughout the weekend, refering to height varieties
The decision to conclude the mission came after NASA’s balloon operators noted altitude variations during the last few weeks of the flight over the Pacific Ocean. The variance occurred at night and especially when flying over cold storms, with temperatures dropping as low as negative 80 degrees Celsius
Instead of staying up near the 110,000 feet (33,500 metres) design altitude, the balloon was dropping to about 80,000 feet (24,400 metres). Once, over a severe cold storm, it dropped to around 70,000 feet (21,300 metres)
“However, at sunrise, the balloon always ascended back to 110,000 feet and repressurised”, NASA's blog post states
NASA boffins will have to recover the balloon to work out why it was rising and falling so much, but speculate that it “may have bled off some helium during one of the initial, harsher cold storms and then resealed itself”
The organization cut down the inflatable in Peru throughout the weekend, refering to height varieties
The decision to conclude the mission came after NASA’s balloon operators noted altitude variations during the last few weeks of the flight over the Pacific Ocean. The variance occurred at night and especially when flying over cold storms, with temperatures dropping as low as negative 80 degrees Celsius
Instead of staying up near the 110,000 feet (33,500 metres) design altitude, the balloon was dropping to about 80,000 feet (24,400 metres). Once, over a severe cold storm, it dropped to around 70,000 feet (21,300 metres)
“However, at sunrise, the balloon always ascended back to 110,000 feet and repressurised”, NASA's blog post states
NASA boffins will have to recover the balloon to work out why it was rising and falling so much, but speculate that it “may have bled off some helium during one of the initial, harsher cold storms and then resealed itself”
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