BALLOON LOAD TAPES TEST

The objective of the flight was to test a new kind of load tapes in the balloon. Load tapes, inserted vertically/meridionally along the sealing lines of adjacent gores serve as the skeleton of a scientific balloon. To sustain a heavy payload in Earth's stratosphere lying over 30 kilometers up from the ground, fibers of a load tape must provide ample reinforcement and low extensibility. Prior to this test, JAXA had used tapes made by foreign manufacturers. For this particular flight, a new, light weight Japanese-made product has been adopted for the first time.

Balloon launched on: 6/24/2017 at 3:33 jst
Launch site: Multipurpose Aviation Research Field, Taiki-Cho, Hokkaido, Japan  
Balloon launched by: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) / Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon model B5 5.000 m3
Flight identification number: B17-04
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 6/24/2017 at 6:09 jst
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): 2 h 36 m
Landing site: In the Pacific Ocean 20 km SE of Taiki, Japan

The balloon was launched from the Taiki Aerospace Research Field on June 24, 2017, at 3:33 a.m. Japan Standard Time (JST). After released, the 5.000 m3 balloon ascended at 330 meters/minute about 5:00 JST it reached float altitude of 24 kilometers above the Pacific Ocean, approximately 50 kilometers east of the Research Field. At 6:09 JST, following the separation command, the balloon and control equipment started descent and fell at a point 20 kilometers south east off the origin of flight, offshore the Pacific Ocean. Then, by 6:50 JST pickup was done by a ship that JAXA dispatched to the site.

• Information about the flight ISAS / JAXA website