Weather balloons are a primary tool used in the study of weather patterns by researchers supported by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program and at the National Weather Service. Balloons are equipped to transmit position, temperature, pressure, and humidity data as the primary source to better understand the environment. Manual balloon launching and transmission monitoring requires several man-hours per launch. This project will develop an automated weather balloon launcher which houses both the weather balloon and transmitter instrumentation into a cartridge type packaging. The cartridge will ensure reliable transmitter battery activation, signal acquisition, balloon inflation, and safe egress for both the balloon and transmitter. The multi-balloon automated launcher concept reduces the required field man-hours down to that needed to replace spent cartridges. Phase I will concentrate on the cartridge development and launch sequence controls for a single launch prototype. The primary goal will be to develop a stand-alone system that is easy to maintain and provides reliable service. Following the cartridge development, a field-grade multiple launch silo will be conceptually designed. In Phase II, the multiple launch balloon silo will be constructed and software developed to fully automate both the launch sequence and all data acquisition and reduction. The silo will utilize internal environment controls to prevent freezing and will be on-line accessible for remote launch capabilities as well as for data downloading.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:An automated multiple weather balloon launcher has immediate application to both the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program and the National Weather Service, which together launch thousands of balloons each year. The multi-balloon launcher will provide a significant economic benefit to the customer by reducing the man-hours spent releasing and monitoring weather balloons.
