Flight #2002-3 "Mercury 3"

Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 17:39:10 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Saturday's mission a success (mostly)

Greetings everyone.

        Well, the balloon flight on saturday, Sept. 28 was fairly
successful.  The weather cleared up and not a cloud was in the sky as
we met and began filling at Ray's farm around 12:30.  Naturally, we
had some delays in getting everything all sorted out, but we were
hooked up and ready to go by 2:00 pm.  I took hold of the filled
balloon nozzle, others held the payload and lanyard, and on command
the balloon wranglers pulled the hold-down parachute off the balloon.
POP!  It wasn't loud (you'd at least expect that much money's worth of
helium and rubber to make a satisfying 'bang').  I didn't know what
had happened until sheets of rubber came falling down around me.
How disgusting!
        Ryan called the FAA, who generously granted us an extention
on our NOTAM.  Blaise, Dave, and I piled into my explorer and ran
back to Grand Forks for the one last bottle of gas EERC had for us.
After we returned, we filled the second balloon we had brought without
the hold-down, which may or may not have damaged the first balloon.
When the second balloon lifted our calibrated water jug weights, it
was looking dangerously stretched.  We gently attached the lanyard,
and eased the balloon up and released it.  Success!!
        Without the added weight of the hold-down 'chute, the second
balloon didn't have the extra free lift we wanted.  Instead of an
800' per minute ascent rate, the balloon loafed up at 500.  Later,
as the helium cooled, the balloon nearly stratified and only managed
a meger 7,000 feet maximum altitude before the 90 minute cutdown
deadline came.  The winds were so calm that the chasers didn't have to
leave the launch site for 45 minutes after the launch!  This is
definately a first.  Unfortunately, we didn't repeat the profile
of the last mission, which is what we wanted to do.  Hopfully EERC
will find some useful data from the flight anyway.  The chasers were
able to film the cutdown and descent for the first time, and the
package was quickly found.

        It's hard to know for sure, but I'll hazard a guess that the
new 1200g balloons we're using, which are from a different manufacturer,
are not as strong as the old ones.  We were probably pushing the old
ones past their design specs, but they worked great.  These new, less
robust models can't take the stress of the extra helium and mass and
are stretched dangerously thin.  I'll have to buy some 3000g units
for the next launch.

        Thanks again to everyone who made the mission happen, and
especially to Blaise and his wife for the after-mission party!

JCN