Purpose of the flight and payload description

The flight served to test the performance of a parafoil (guided parachute) to be used in future manned balloon mission offered by World View Enterprises on a commercial basis. Onboard were included several students experiments. A payload provided by the University of North Florida was an apparatus to measure the ozone gas profile in the stratosphere using a nanocrystalline gas sensor array, while the University of Montana instrument included onboard two experiments: a tracking and high-definition link to be used on an experiment during a total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 and a computer system that's designed to resist radiation in space.

This mission marked the highest altitude for the deployment of a parafoil (102.000 feet), surpassing the prvious mark (50.000 feet) set also by World View in June 2014.

Details of the balloon flight

Balloon launched on: 2/19/2015
Launch site: Marana Regional Airport, Arizona, US  
Balloon launched by: World View Enterprises
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon  
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 2/19/2015

External references

Images of the mission

         

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