THEMIS

THEMIS was the generic denomination of some technological missions carried out by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in the framework of the transmediterranean long-duration balloon flights of the ODISSEA campaigns. The name is rooted in the tradition followed by the french researchers who named the missions after characters found in Homer's masterpiece ''The Odyssey" or in the greek/roman mythology.

This particular flight transported onboard the following experiments:

BTS an experiment of CNES to study the stratospheric thermal balance.

MICRAB a device developed by CNES to monitor de ascent of the balloon using different media.

RADIATION BALANCE an experiment developed by the Laboratoire d'Optique Atmosphérique (LOA), from Lille, France to assess the ground radiative balance and intercomparison with similar data obtained by the ERBE satellite.

GPS in-flight test of a localization receptor provided by CNES-CNR-INTA

Also during the flight, a new kind of balloon was tested.

Balloon launched on: 7/7/1987
Launch site: Base di Lancio Luigi Broglio, Trapani, Sicily, Italy  
Balloon launched by: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon Zodiac - 800.000 m3
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 7/8/1987
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): 19 h 42 m
Landing site: Near Sevilla, Spain
Campaign: ODISSEA 87  
Payload weight: 4015 kgs
Overall weight: 4015 kgs

• Les ballons au service de la recherche. L'aérostation scientifique des origines à nos jours. Editions Edite & IFHE (Institut Français de l'Histoire de l'Espace) 2011, Pag. 420