Stage set for launch of 10 balloon flights

Hyderabad: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) scientist-in-charge B Suneel Kumar said 10 balloon flights would be operated from Hyderabad for scientific purpose from November to April 30, 2018 under the auspices of the Department of Atomic Energy and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The balloons filled with hydrogen gas, carrying scientific instruments will be launched from the balloon facility of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, ECIL, Hyderabad. The first balloon flight is planned around the third week of November. The balloons are made of twin (polyethylene) plastic films, ranging in diameters from 50 metres to 85 metres and normally launched between 8 pm and 6.30 am through night.

The balloons, which carry scientific instruments for research at high altitudes, are expected to reach heights between 30 km and 42 km depending upon the experiments being undertaken. The instruments will be kept at these heights for periods ranging from a few to 10 hours and then they will be released from the balloon. After release, the instruments will come down to ground on large coloured parachutes. During ascent and at ceiling, the balloons will drift in the prevailing winds and the instruments may, therefore, land at points as distant as about 200 to 350 km from Hyderabad.

The balloon drifts will be on the Vishakapatnam-Hyderabad- Sholapur line, in the areas of Andhra Pradesh, North Karnataka and Maharashtra States. The expected regions of impact of the payload after release from the balloon are: Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Hyderabad, Jagtial, Jangaon, Jayshankar Bhupalpally, Jogulamba Gadwal, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Komaram Bheem, Mahabubabad, Mahbubnagar, Mancherial, Medak, Medchal, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Peddapalli, Rajanna Sircilla, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy, Siddipet, Suryapet, Vikarabad, Wanaparthy, Warangal and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts of Telangana. The parachute with the instruments suspended underneath it, on a long rope, about 20 to 40 metres in length, will usually come down to ground quite slowly.

Suneel Kumar appealed the people that the persons who find the parachute and instruments not to remove them from its place of landing and to telephone or sent a message to the address which would be given on various packages. They are also requested to contact the nearest police station, post office and district authorities about the finding. Instruments are kept inside wooden cages or large aluminium framework/containers for safety. The instruments are extremely sensitive and valuable, scientific data will be lost if they are tampered.

There may be high voltages on some of the instruments, which will be dangerous, but only if the instruments are opened, up. Otherwise, they are safe and harmless. On receipt of information from finders, scientists carrying out these experiments will collect the instruments and pay the finder a suitable reward plus all their reasonable expenses for sending messages, making telephone calls, travelling for conveying the information, etc. No reward will be paid if it is found that anything has been opened or tampered with.