roswell

The objective of this trip, so far as NYU was concerned, was to perfect the
handling of large flight trains of meteorological balloons and to evaluate the
operations of altitude controlling and telemetering devices. 24 Already established
before the trips to Alamogordo was that the use of the standard, 350-gram
meteorological balloons, constructed of neoprene, was, at best, a "stop gap"
method of achieving constant-level flight. 25 Balloons most suitable for this type of
work were made of polyethylene, a very thin, translucent plastic. These balloons,
however, had just been developed, and, although the NYU group had contracted
for some of them, the balloons had not been received until after the group
departed for Alamogordo.26 For Watson Laboratory scientists Peoples and Crary,
the purpose of this trip was to experiment with different types of equipment to
collect and transmit sound waves in the upper atmosphere. Therefore, just as the
"balloon group" was using meteorological balloons as a stopgap method in
attaining constant-level flight, the Watson Laboratory scientists utilized an
ANICRT-1A Sonabuoy while awaiting the delivery of acoustical equipment
specifically designed for Project MOGUL. 27 The NYU personnel developing the
telemetering equipment experimented with components of the sonabuoy, which
was cylindrical, nearly 3 feet long and 4 3 I 4 inches wide, and weighing 13
pounds (Atch 4). The sonabuoy contained both the acoustical pickups, known as
hydrophones, and the means of telemetering the sounds by use of a FM transmit-
ter, the T-1BICRT-1.
Soon after arriving at Alamogordo AAF, a problem developed. Dr Peoples, Project
Scientist, decided not to bring the radiosonde recorder (an AN IFMQ1 weighing
approximately 500 pounds), due to the weight and space limitations of the B-17
aircraft originally scheduled to transport the equipment from Olmstead Field.
Radiosondes were a widely used and accurate method of tracking weather
balloons consisting of a transmitter, which was carried aloft by the balloon, and
a ground-based receiver I recorder. Radiosondes, along with aircraft, were to be
the primary method to track the Project MOGUL balloons.28 Dr. Peoples, however,
believed that the radar currently in place at Alamogordo for tracking V-2 firings
would be sufficient for tracking the balloons trains. However, this radar did not
work well and often lost contact with the balloon while it was still within visual
range. Accordingly, Moore, the project engineer, experimented with an "unortho-
dox" method, in the absence of a radiosonde recorder. He tried to track the
balloons using multiple radar targets.29 A radar target was a multisided object,
which, in appearance, resembles a box kite constructed of balsa wood and
metallicized paper (Atch 5). Moore and his technicians conducted test flights,
attempting to obtain a better radar return by attaching additional targets. They
24. Research Division, College of Engineering, NYU, Progress Report No. 7, Constant Level
Balloon, Sect IT, Jul1947 (hereafter NYU, Progress Report No. 7, Sect II), p. 5.
25. NYU, Special Report No. 1, p. 26.
26. NYU, Progress Report No. 7, Sect II, p. 6.
27. Research Division, College of Engineering, NYU, Progress Report No. 4, Radio Transmitting,
Receiving and Recording System for Constant Level Balloon, Sect I, Apr 2, 1947, p. 1.
28. lntvw, Col Jeffrey Butler and 1st Lt James McAndrew with Professor Charles B. Moore,
Jun 8, 1994.
29. Moore intvw, Jun 8, 1994.