Purpose of the flight and payload description
The TIMR multiwavelength radiometer, operating in the thermal IR spectral region, was a prototype aimed to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio, in order to obtain an experimental validation of a new algorithm for remote sensing of weak water-vapor fields. The instrument, integrated in a 125-kg gondola was flown in 1988. All the subsystems had nominal behavior, as shown by the housekeeping data and from the real-time scientific data quick-look.
Details of the balloon flight
Balloon launched on: 8/1/1988
Launch site: Base di Lancio Luigi Broglio, Trapani, Sicily, Italy
Balloon launched by: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) / Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon 25.000 m3
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 8/1/1988
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): ~ 2 h
Landing site: In the sea, near Sicily, Italy
Gondola weight: 125 kgs
External references
- Design and in-flight performance of the TIMR infrared multichannel radiometer IAF, International Astronautical Congress, 40th, Malaga, Spain, Oct. 7-13, 1989. 16 p
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