SUBORBITAL AND SPECIAL ORBITAL PROJECTS DIRECTORATE Overview of the NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO) and Potential Student Opportunities Dr. Magdi Said Balloon Program Office – Wallops Flight Facility Phone: (757) 824-1386 Fax: (757) 824-2149 magdi.a.said@nasa.gov National Council of Space Grant Directors Meeting New York, NY October 27-28, 2006

Wallops Flight Facility NASA Centers & Wallops Flight Facility … Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island, VA CSBF (Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility) (Balloon Launch Contractor) October 27, 2006

Antarctica Balloon Launch …. October 27, 2006

Balloon Launch Facilities in Antarctica October 27, 2006

NASA’s Scientific Balloons – Physical Dimensions & Size Comparison October 27, 2006

The Earth’s Atmosphere Balloon Altitudes typically 30-35 km, corresponding to pressures of 5-10 milli-bar, residual atmosphere of 5-10 g/cm2, i.e. above 99-99.5% of air mass. Ambient Temperatures -25 to +5 C Heat transfer primarily by Radiation Shielding effects on Cosmic Rays, X-rays, Gamma rays and UV nearly gone. Really a Space Environment !! Hence, ideal for use As a test-bed for new Space Technologies To enable important Science Observations Other potential practical applications October 27, 2006

Expected Flight Environment Gets cold at the tropopause (~ -50o C) Any water vapor will condense out and cause frost Good vacuum ( < 0.02 atmosphere) Landing can be rough (shock, trees, rocks, dragging) High velocity during initial descent (~500 mph) October 27, 2006

NASA’s Balloon Program (Facts & Capabilities) The Balloon Program provides low cost, high altitude platforms to facilitate scientific exploration Largest balloon flown by NASA 59.6 MCF (1.7M m3) Highest altitude achieved by a NASA Balloon 160 k ft (4900 km) Normal float altitude 110-130k ft (33.5-39.6 km). Average number flown per year 20 balloons Average duration (ZP) 12-36 hours Longest Duration for ZP balloon (LDB) 42 days (Antarctica Dec/Jan 04) Payload capacity Up to 8000 Lbs. (3600 kg) October 27, 2006

Balloon Launch Sites Around the World With International Overflight Approval, Northern Hemisphere 21+ Day Flights Could Be Achieved BLAST Sweden To Canada Trajectory, June 12 to 16th, 2005 CREAM 41.9 Day 3-Circumpolar Trajectory Over Antarctica Dec 04 – Jan 05 October 27, 2006

Typical Science Payloads ….. CREAM - Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass Particle Astrophysics NASA LDB Fight Duration Record Of Over 41 Days Dec 16, 2004 – Jan 27, 2005 BESS – Balloon Experiment with Superconducting Spectrometer Particle Astrophysics Flown Over Antarctica Dec 13, 2004 – Dec 21, 2004 October 27, 2006

Student Opportunities October 27, 2006

Student Access to Space Student access to testing in space is limited The Balloon Program will offer limited opportunities for space grant recipients without impact on normal operations Depending on need, HQ may elect to provide space grant funding for student dedicated flights Students will learn to prepare space qualified payloads Students will gain experience in space related technologies October 27, 2006

Why Consider Balloons as an Educational Tool ? Short project development cycle term (adequate for academic environment) Student involvement, education and training during all phases of a mission Fast Response to Scientific/Engineering Need Recoverable (“refurbish and re-fly’) - iterative learning Verification platform for Space Systems Affordable October 27, 2006

What are Students Expected to Learn ? Technical Experiment development/design Fabrication Test and qualification for near space operations Troubleshooting Integration Launch/operation aspects Recovery and de-integration Data analysis Refurbish/Re-fly Management Project management Project schedule and deadlines Milestones/Reviews Communication skills Systems engineering skills Documentation skills Presentation skills October 27, 2006

Available Opportunities Student Experiment* Module (SEM-B) Piggy-Back* Cost Sharing - High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) Purchase your own flight HQ Space Grant Funded SEM-B Case Iridium Communication HASP Payload * Requires coordination with and approval of the Scientist (PI) October 27, 2006

SEM-B Activities Status as of October 06’ Alaska 1 Maine Vermont New Hampshire Washington 1 North Dakota Montana 2 Massachusetts 4 1 3 Minnesota New York Rhode Island 1 Wisconsin 1 3 2 2 Connecticut Oregon Idaho South Dakota Michigan 1 1 1 New Jersey Wyoming Pennsylvania 6 6 7 1 10 1 2 Iowa Nebraska 2 2 Illinois Ohio 2 Delaware Indiana West Virginia Nevada 2 2 3 Maryland 3 1 Utah 2 1 1 Colorado Virginia Washington DC California Kansas Missouri Kentucky 3 2 1 1 1 North Carolina Tennessee 1 2 Hawaii 1 South Carolina New Mexico Oklahoma Arkansas Arizona States Utilized SEM-B (30) States have Not Utilized SEM-B (20+DC) Elementary School (13) Middle School (25) High School (25) College/University (3) Other (School District, Organization, Home School) (24) 1 1 1 Alabama 1 Georgia 1 1 3 Mississippi Texas Louisiana Florida 2 1 October 27, 2006

High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) Is a collaboration between BPO and LSU/other Louisiana organizations Fully dedicated to student experiments Experiment/payload funded by space grant BPO provides balloon and launch support First flight was launched from Ft. Sumner, NM on September 4, 2006 aboard an 11.82 MCF balloon. Payload weight was 1000 LBS Four institutions (7 payloads) participated Float altitude was 122 KFT Total flight time was 18 HRS., 11 MIN. Cosmo-Cam provided interactive video imaging throughout the flight. The flight was an operations and science success. It exceeded all preflight minimum requirements. Call for Payload for FY07 has been released, deadline is Dec. 15th, check HASP website. HASP Pre-launch Two flight tests were conducted on the Mars Balloons in May. The latest analysis shows that the problem with the poly balloon is likely due to the parachute not completely opening, which caused excess velocity during inflation. The poly balloon developed tears in the film. It appears from video analysis that the parachute did not fully deploy, which increased the aero stress on the balloon. October 27, 2006

HASP Activities Status as of October 06’ Alaska Maine Vermont New Hampshire Washington North Dakota Montana Massachusetts Minnesota New York Rhode Island Wisconsin Connecticut Oregon Idaho South Dakota Michigan New Jersey Wyoming Pennsylvania Iowa Nebraska Illinois Ohio Delaware Indiana West Virginia Nevada Maryland Utah Colorado Virginia Washington DC California Kansas Missouri Kentucky North Carolina Tennessee Hawaii New Mexico Oklahoma South Carolina Arkansas Arizona Alabama Georgia 3 3 Mississippi States Utilized HASP (3) States have Not Utilized HASP (47+DC) Texas 1 Louisiana Florida 1 College/University payloads (7) October 27, 2006

Typical Student Payload Development & Flight Cycle Design & Fabrication Testing/Qualification Integration Launch Analysis Jan 07 April 07 June 07 July 07 Oct.- 07 June-Sept. 07 Application & Selection October 27, 2006

Expenses …. Participants are responsible for payload development cost and all associated logistics cost. Typically, payload development cost is paid for through the respective space grant program. Balloon Program will offer limited number of free rides (access to space) for the select participants. October 27, 2006

How to Contact NASA’s BPO ? Address: Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA 23337 (Attention: Code 820) BPO Chief/Mr. David Pierce (757) 824-1453 BPO Assistant Chief/Mr. David Gregory (757) 824-2367 BPO Technologist/Outreach/ Dr. Magdi Said (757) 824-1386 BPO Secretary/Ms. Rebecca Gramlich (757) 824-1480 Office Fax Number (757) 824-2149 BPO Website: www.wff.nasa.gov/balloons For More info on HASP Contact: Professors T.G. Guzik and J.P. Wefel Dept. of Physics & Astronomy Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA U.S.A. (http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/) http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/documents/cfp/2006-2007/HASP_CFP_2006_v5.pdf (Application) October 27, 2006