Mission: T01

Summary:

The first tethered test was interrupted by an accident where the balloon escaped from the filling system and the launch director suffered lacerations on his hand while stopping the balloon's ascent. Two things caused the accident: first, the three stack lines were not tied down and the other is that the balloon was able to escape from the fill adapter.

Even though the launch was stopped early, many aspects of the launch procedure were validated.

Flight Information

Date:	June 4, 2003 7:30 AM
Launch Site:	St. Paul Campus Research Plots :: Map :: Web Page
Launch Coordinates:	Latitude: 44.98 N, Longitude: 93.23 W, Altitude: 237 Meters ASL

Personel:

Mission Manager:	Greg Nelson
Launch Director:	Kevin Sweeney
Flight Director:	Stephanie Soffa
Launch Team:	Jennifer Halsted, Dave Hultman

Lessons learned:

The defined procedures should be followed at all times.
The fill adapter needs to be securely attached to the neck of the balloon. Idealy, the full lift of the balloon should not be concentrated on the neck of the balloon.
Measuring lift should be done with a hanging scale which will be attached to the balloon neck above the fill adapter
Different line should be used for the stack lines instead of the thin Dacron.