Jump to content

Weather balloon help


skibum157

Recommended Posts

Hey guys,

 

I'm new to this forum, but I've created an account to ask you guys for some help. This summer I'm in charge of testing the communication system for a cubesat and one of my tests calls for the use of a weather balloon to create the separation that we will see in orbit. The thing is, I have no experience with weather balloons. I need to tether a balloon around 150 feet (thats the maximum height I can tether without getting the FAA involved) which will allow my radio communications to clear the 1st fresnel zone through about 14 km of separation. My main problem is choosing which balloon I need and determining the amount of line I will need for a stable 150 foot tether. The payload will be about 3 lbs.

 

All the online resources I've found have been more concerned with free flying weather balloons, and I figure I could use a much smaller balloon if I don't need nearly as much height, but what do you guys think?

 

As for the line I need, I've written a matlab script which tells me about how much the wind will push the balloon depending on the wind speed and the ultimate dimensions of the balloon that I use. However I'm using a lot of simplifcations (drag coefficient for the balloon approximately .45) so I'm not 100% sure how accurate the result will be.

 

If anyone has any input on either aspect of this problem, I'd greatly appreciate the help.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Hi there, I've done a number of weather balloon flights and I think I may be able to help a bit. Firstly the size of the balloon has more to do with how much payload it can lift than how high it goes. Determining balloon size is just a simple matter of displacement, helium lifts 1.0565 Kg/Cubic Meter. As far as the tether the max strength according to FAA regulations is 50lbs of force to break the line. You can read about my various ballooning exploits at tracksoar.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.