Launch at Last!

Our next opportunity finally arrived two weeks later. Having been through two “dress rehearsals,” we knew what to expect. 

The procedure was to lay out the balloon on a protective tarp on the runway.  The topmost section of the balloon, a small portion that would become the “bubble”, was fed through a retaining “spool” and folded back on itself.  The top section had two tubes, made of balloon material, through which helium would be fed, inflating the bubble, which would gradually ease up from the tarp, eventually becoming large enough to lift itself off the ground entirely, with only the spool and the tension from the uninflated remainder keeping it in place.

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Off Duty, Styrofoam Insulation, False Starts

Off Duty

While the wind blew, the various research groups and the launch crew prepared and tested their experiments and rigs, like fishermen mending nets to get ready for the next big catch.  At the end of each day we would check the wind conditions and then give up for the day, leaving the airport to seek dinner and retire to our rooms at the Super-8 for a few hours of personal time and sleep before repeating the routine the next day. 

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