Learning from Mistakes

By BETH FOLEY
The Palestine Herald

PALESTINE July 13, 2007 02:59 pm

— Sometimes an apparent failure is a good thing.
Wednesday night’s failed attempt to test launch a 37-million cubic foot scientific lift balloon may have disappointed onlookers expecting to see the massive balloon rise against the backdrop of a warm, hazy sunset.
But it provided scientists at the NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility with valuable information about the problems which can occur with huge balloons and heavy payloads.
Because it was a test flight for the balloon, the payload did not contain scientific experiments.
“This was our heaviest balloon and our heaviest payload (8,000 pounds),” Danny Ball, CSBF operations manager, said Thursday. “We had to put 15,000 pounds of helium into the balloon, which puts a lot of stress and strain on it.”
The balloon appeared to fill normally, but problems arose when it was released upward, the step done prior to releasing the payload to fly.
“When it (the balloon) came out of the spool, it destroyed itself,” Ball said.
The failure provided something to consider as scientists plan and prepare for scientific launches, he said.
“We learned what we were trying to learn — how reliable it’s going to be,” Ball said, adding that the incident will have to be taken into account as scientists plan future flights. “We probably have to expect a higher probability of failure.”
The CSBF is scheduled to launch a 37-million cubic foot balloon carrying a Japanese experiment in December from a site in Antarctica.
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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com

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