TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section
Page Number
I. Introduction
5
Contract Requirements
5
Project Facilities
6
II. Principles of Balloon Control
6
III. Methods of Attack
8
Rubber Balloons
8
Plastic Balloons
9
Internal-Pressure Balloons
14
Altitude Controls
16
Flight Simulation
25
Flight Termination Gear
29
IV. Equations and Theoretical Considerations
30
Floating Altitude and Altitude Sensitivity
30
Rate of Rise
33
Superheat and its Effects
34
Adiabatic Lapse Rate
38
Diffusion and Leakage of Lifting Gas
40
Bursting Pressure and Appendix Considerations
47
A General Equation of Motion
56
V. Telemetering
62
Information Transmitted
62
Transmitters Used
63
Receivers and Recorders Used
65
Batteries Used
65
Radio Direction-Finding
66
Radar and Optical Tracking
67
VI. Instrumentation
67
Altitude Determination
67
Temperature Measurements
74
Ballast Metering
76
VII. Conclusions
79