NEUTRON DETECTOR

The detector system was formed by a telescope composed by two Geiger-Muller counters. One of the counters had a thin cover of Aluminium, whereas the second had a internal cover of Bismute. The counting rates of each counter and its double coincidence were transmitted by telemetry.

Balloon launched on: 8/7/1971
Launch site: Centre for Experimentation and Launch of Self-Propelled Rockets, Chamical, Argentine  
Balloon launched by: Fuerza Aerea Argentina
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon 30.000 m3
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 8/7/1971
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): ~ 30 m

The launch was successful from Chamical Base on August 7, 1971, at a time of unexpected solar activity. Unfortunately the flight was aborted after a few minutes of ascent due to a fire in one of the auxiliary balloons. The fall from a height of about 2,000 m caused significant damage to the detector itself and the total destruction of 5 photomultipliers; the "timer", the "beacon" were definitely lost, the hermetic container and other minor subsystems were largely destroyed, all of which can be reconstituted. The main electronics suffered relatively minor damage. In the rest of the year, work began on the reconstruction of the detector, which would be launched from the same site exactly one year later.

• Detección de neutrones rápidos de origen solar Boletín de la Asociación Argentina de Astronomía - Número 18, pag. 118 (1980)