Feasibility study on scientific balloon experiment at Ny-Alesund

Abstract

This paper deals with the possibility of scientific ballooning in the Arctic (at Ny-Alesund). This study is based on balloon experiments carried out at Syowa Station, Antarctica, from 1996 through 1999. Under typical flight conditions, such as five-hour flight duration at 30 km altitude, balloon trajectory simulation at Ny-Alesund demonstrated the flight range within 150 km in June through August, and large possibility of payload recovery. A new type of superpressure balloon developed by a Japanese balloon group, which promises a long duration flight at constant altitude, will be a useful platform. New onboard systems and ground facilities developed for the preceding balloon experiment in the Antarctic will be applicable to scientific observations over Arctic regions.