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Daily archives for March 15th, 2012

BIOGRAPHY ART THOMPSON

Mar15th
2012
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Red Bull Stratos Technical Project Director

Art Thompson possesses more than 30 years of experience in innovating leading-edge design that has produced major breakthroughs in aerospace history, including development of the B-2 “Stealth” bomber.

As technical project director for Red Bull Stratos, Art drives engineering program management and has also been responsible for selecting and assembling the global mission team and securing equipment and facilities. He is Felix Baumgartner’s right-hand man and earliest collaborator.

A California native, Art studied engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles and also attended the University of La Verne and Northrop University. While working for Northrop Corporation in the late 1970s, he and a small contingent of engineers (working under Dr. John Cashen and Fred Oshira and using an original design concept by Irv Waaland) brainstormed ideas and methods for military aircraft that could avoid radar detection. The Northrop team went from drawing napkin sketches and conceptualizing ideas and shapes to conceiving the design that the Department of Defense chose to develop into the B-2 Spirit.

Today Art is vice president of Sage Cheshire Aerospace, Inc. which he co-founded in Lancaster, California, more than 10 years ago. The company provides solutions for a complete range of aerospace needs, from initial design and engineering to finished product, with an experienced team of professionals hand-picked by Art himself.

Art is instrumental in coordinating the efforts of the global mission team to meet all production, testing and implementation milestones. Further, his Sage Cheshire crew is responsible for the design, construction and testing of Felix’s capsule, and the facility serves as the hub of mission technological development overall.

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RED BULL STRATOS BALLOON

Mar15th
2012
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Type: The balloon is filled with helium to create lift. Helium is non-flammable, non-toxic if vented to the atmosphere and a safe, predictable method of ascent.

Material: It is constructed of strips of high-performance polyethylene (plastic) film that is only 0.0008 inches thick. In total, these strips would cover 40 acres if they were laid flat. Polyester-fibre reinforced load tapes are incorporated to do the weight bearing.

Size, volume and shape: The balloon for Felix’s mission from the edge of space will be nearly 30 million cubic feet in capacity – 10 times larger than Joe Kittinger’s balloon in 1960.

At launch, it will be tall and thin, stretching 55 stories high. As the balloon ascends, the helium will expand and the balloon will slowly fill out to an almost completely round shape:

– Length of uninflated balloon before launch: 592.41 feet

– Height of balloon at take-off: 550 feet

– The height from the top of the balloon to bottom of the capsule will be: 695 feet

– Size of balloon at 120,000 feet: Height 334.82 feet / Diameter: 424.37 feet

Weight: The uninflated balloon weighs 3,708 pounds

INFLATION AND LAUNCH INFRASTRUCTURE

Helium is delivered on two large trucks. Another truck with a “launch arm” restraint holds down a portion of the balloon during inflation. At launch, the arm moves out of the way to allow the balloon to ascend. Simultaneously, a large crane drives in to position the capsule under the balloon. The crane releases the capsule, the balloon lifts it off the crane, and the ascent begins.

OTHER INFORMATION

Was the balloon specially developed for the Red Bull Stratos mission?

The balloon is a standard design utilizing principles and materials that have been refined over  60 years of high-altitude scientific balloon flights.

Are there hazards associated with helium balloon flight?
Balloons are susceptible to wind, which can literally tear them – particularly at critical times.

– Take-off, when difficulties due to weather or other factors could drag the capsule across the ground or cause a sudden dangerous drop in height. If a problem occurred below 1,000 feet, there would not be enough time to deploy a personal or capsule parachute.

 

– Ascent through the troposphere (30,000 to 60,000 feet), where turbulence is common.

– Float altitude (top altitude), where low air pressure will cause the helium to expand so much that if the excess cannot escape through the balloon’s vent tubes, it will burst. Helium inflation quantities are carefully calculated to avoid this.

 

How long does it take to inflate the balloon?

The overall launch process for this kind of balloon requires approximately 8 hours of preparation immediately before launch, including about 45 to 60 minutes for insertion of the helium.

How big is the launch crew?

The balloon launch crew itself is about 12 to 15 people, all of whom must wear clothing that won’t snag the balloon. A number of individuals will clear the runway of fine debris before laying out the balloon. Fewer than 10 people actually handle the balloon, and those who do wear cotton gloves.

Why does a helium balloon rise?

Helium is lighter than air. If the balloon is large enough in relation to the weight of its payload, the helium will ascend and bring the payload with it.

How fast will the balloon ascend?

The balloon will ascend at about 1,000 meters per minute. At some points, its ascent could be as fast as 1,400 feet per minute. Upon reaching about 100,000 feet, however, it will likely slow to roughly 750 feet per minute until it levels off at approximately 120,000 feet above sea level.

How is the balloon steered?
Wind is used to direct a balloon’s trajectory. Wind speed and direction vary at different altitudes so balloons are steered by changing altitude to reach the desired wind conditions. Releasing helium causes a decrease in altitude, while dropping ballast allows a balloon to rise.

How does the balloon avoid other aircraft in the sky?

The balloon will be tracked by the mission team while in the air. The mission team coordinates closely with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to obtain clearance for flight and special reflective tape is incorporated into the seams so that it can be seen on radar.

Felix’s target altitude is described as “float altitude.” What is that?

Float altitude is the point at which the balloon levels off and stops ascending. Although helium is lighter than air, at higher altitudes air density is reduced. Float altitude is reached when the average density of the balloon is the same as the density of the surrounding atmosphere.

What happens to the balloon after Felix jumps?

After Felix has landed, Mission Control will trigger the separation of the capsule and balloon, so that the capsule can descend under its parachute. A nylon “destruct line” will release the helium so that the balloon returns to Earth. Then, the team will gather the envelope into a large truck, a process that can take several hours.

Is the same balloon being used repeatedly for tests, as well as the final mission?

No. The test balloons are smaller than the almost 30 million cubic foot balloon used for the ascent to 120,000 feet. None of these delicate balloons can be re-used. In fact, once Felix’s balloon is even taken out of its box it must be launched promptly or discarded.

 

Who is responsible for launching the balloon?

ATA Aerospace provides the balloon launch services, personnel and equipment for Red Bull Stratos. Key personnel on the ATA team include crew chief Ed Coca, meteorologist Don Dayand project lead Tracy Gerber. A joint venture of Albuquerque-based Applied Technology Associates and ASRC Aerospace, ATA Aerospace offers the expertise of an extensive history in large-scale balloon launches, including serving as the prime contractor on the AFRL Space Technology Research, Analysis, Integration and Test (STRAIT) contract. On this contract, ATA Aerospace provides the program management; engineering services; integration, test, and launch support; on-orbit support; and test facility operations and management for satellite and high-altitude systems and subsystems including buses and payloads. For more information:www.aptec.com

LAUNCH TIMELINE

The best weather conditions for balloon launch usually occur at dawn. Here is an approximate timeline.

 

Launch minus 8 hours

After a weather and safety briefing, the team inspects the equipment and communications systems, then pulls the boxed balloon and equipment out of the hangar while a separate crew works to clear the runway of dirt, debris and other objects. The capsule and balloon are delivered to the launch area on a cleared runway. More checks and re-verifications are conducted.

Launch minus 4:30 hours

Crew Chief contacts Mission Control for permission to lay out the flight train components. Balloon is laid out on a layer of Herculite. Then balloon, parachute and capsule are connected.

Launch minus 2:45 hours

Layout of flight train is complete.

Launch minus 2:15 hours

Balloon’s helium valves are rechecked and verified.

Launch minus 1:15 hours

All capsule checks are complete.

Launch minus 1:00 hours

Crew chief contacts meteorologist and requests permission to begin inflation.

Launch minus 0:55 hours
Inflation begins.

 

Launch minus 0:30 hours
Felix is sealed in capsule which is cradled on a crane and pressurization begins.

Launch minus 0:10 hours

Inflation is complete.

Launch minus 0:05 hours
Crew chief inspects the entire flight train and removes all safety restraints

Launch minus 0:01 hours

Balloon bubble is released from launch arm.

 

LAUNCH
As the balloon rises, the crane bearing the capsule drives rapidly down the runway to meet it. The crane releases the capsule when it’s vertical with the balloon. The balloon lifts the capsule off the crane and the ascent begins.

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Baumgartner passes test through death zones

Mar15th
2012
Written by admin

Austria’s Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a space capsule from an altitude of approximately 71,580 feet as the Red Bull Stratos project moved forward into the manned flight stage in New Mexico. The 42-year-old rode the space capsule attached to a giant helium balloon above the so-called “Armstrong Line.”

 ROSWELL (New Mexico) – At precisely 9:50 a.m., Felix Baumgartner landed with his parachute in the New Mexico desert nearly 30 miles away from Roswell, wearing a spacesuit as he safely completed a journey towards the edge of space. Just 1 hour and 40 minutes earlier the extreme athlete from Austria had lifted off from Roswell on board a space capsule attached to a 165-foot-high helium balloon that brought him to an altitude of nearly 71,580 feet.

The goal of this expedition towards the edge of space was to fly over the so-called “Armstrong Line” and to do tests under real conditions for the first time. That is the area in aerospace where earthly boundaries and laws disappear. It is an inhospitable region for humans where liquids begin to vaporize and temperatures plunge to minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Humans could not survive in this zone without a spacesuit to protect them from the forces of depressurization and lack of oxygen. To get there, Baumgartner first had to make it through another “death zone” closer to earth. During the first 1,000 feet of his ascent there would be no chance of escape in the event of a crash because there would be no time to get out of the capsule or open the parachute.

The ascent and his exit from the capsule went exactly as planned. Baumgartner plunged back towards earth at a speed of nearly 365 miles per hour. He said later the most difficult part was the extreme cold he encountered. “I could hardly move my hands. We’re going to have to do some work on that aspect,” he said. The Austrian added that he also needs to work on getting accustomed to the extraordinary dimensions of space. “I wanted to open the parachute after descending for a while, but I noticed that I was still at an altitude of 50,000 feet,” he said.

Even though it was only a test jump for his forthcoming leap from an altitude of nearly 23 miles, Baumgartner still managed to make it into the record books. He became only the third person to leap from that altitude and survive. The only people to successfully jump from greater heights were Russia’s Eugene Andreev and American Joseph Kittinger, both of whom accomplished their feats in the 1960s. Kittinger, a living legend now 83 years old, is serving as a mentor for the Red Bull Stratos project and was heading Baumgartner’s test flight from Mission Control in Roswell. Kittinger is on the team of nearly 100 top experts recruited from the fields of science, medicine and aerospace for the mission. Technical director Art Thompson was involved with the construction of the Stealth Bomber, and medical director Dr. Jon Clark served as the crew surgeon for six Space Shuttle flights.

The test demonstrated that not only did the capsule system function exactly as planned, but the giant stratospheric balloon did as well, as balloon launch director Ed Coca confirmed. The delicate giant, which was inflated with helium in the early morning hours, was remotely deflated after Baumgartner’s descent, exactly as planned. The space capsule that Baumgartner had been riding in was detached from the balloon with an explosive device, descended under a parachute and later landed undamaged in the desert.
“This test serves as the perfect motivation for the team for the next step,” said Baumgartner, flashing a wide smile after two previous attempts to launch the test earlier this week had to be scrubbed. The conditions in the New Mexico desert will be too windy in the weeks ahead, making it impossible to launch this kind of balloon. After the seasonally windy conditions pass, there will be another test from the altitude of 90,000 feet before Baumgartner and the team will attempt to break the record later this year.

Editor’s Notes:

 

Red Bull Stratos Newsroom: Media content will be updated regularly. To download all available media materials visit: www.RedBullStratosnewsroom.com

 

BBC Documentary: An exclusive, all-access documentary about the Red Bull Stratos project is being produced by the BBC together with National Geographic. The feature-length film will premiere on the BBC in the UK and National Geographic Channel in the US following the jump. It will be aired across the rest of the world soon after. The 90-minute documentary about Red Bull Stratos is being globally licensed and distributed to broadcasters by BBC Worldwide. Broadcasters interested in the BBC documentary should visit www.bbcworldwide.com for more details.

 

Red Bull Stratos Media Contacts:

Trish Medalen

Email: trish@redbullstratos.com

Tel (California, USA): +1 415.302.1400

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