Purpose of the flight and payload description
BIMS was the acronym for Balloon-borne Ion Mass Spectrometer an instrument developed in the early 1980's decade by the Ionospheric Physics Division of the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory. The goal of BIMS was to acquire information on the ionic conditions in the upper stratosphere, a region critical to the understanding and modeling of extremely low frequency radio propagation.
Details of the balloon flight
Balloon launched on: 5/21/1982
Launch site: Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, New Mexico, US
Balloon launched by: Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 5/21/1982
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): 7 h 30 m
Landing site: 19 miles ESE of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, US
External references
- A Gerdien Condenser System for Measuring Stratospheric Charged Particle Densities AFGL, Instrumentation papers Oct 79-Oct 83
- Summary of Balloon Flights launched from H.A.F.B. NM (1962 thru 1987) U.S. Gov. National Archives
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