Jen and Scott on the Ice: Buzzin' in the Basler--Scott's Update

Things are rolling right along at LDB (Long Duration Balloon Facility). The scientists have arrived, the balloons are on station, flights have been scheduled, and instrument payloads are being assembled.

This season there will be four projects operating out of LDB with a total of five balloon launches: CREAM--Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass, BLAST--Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope, BARREL--Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses (2 launches) and SPB--Super Pressure Balloon.

CREAM instrument inside Payload Building #1

The balloons launched from LDB rise through 99% of the Earth's atmosphere to an altitude of 120,000-130,000 feet touching on the very edge of outer space. Nope, these aren't your average birthday party balloons or even the kind used for weather observations. These are gigantic devices capable of lifting payloads in excess of 5,000 pounds!

The Boss launch vehicle and Mt. Erebus

One of the pre-launch tests that has to be performed involves an instrument called a Seat Pack. This device got its name because it takes the place of 2 airplane seats. It's used as a safety backup just in case there are problems with remotely cutting down the payload from the parachute. Think of it as the "Plan B" chase plane.

The Seat Pack

Seat Pack in the cargo bay of the Basler along with survival gear

The plane used for this Seat Pack test was a twin-engine Basler. All Baslers are highly modified DC-3 airframes that are rebuilt from the ground up. These planes are used all over Antarctica and can fly/land in the most difficult conditions. Our Basler was built in 1944 (and unlike the Qantas A380 from a few weeks ago, all our engines stayed on the airplane).