Purpose of the flight and payload description
The Galileo Probe was designed to be carried to Jupiter by the Galileo Orbiter and then released to enter the Jovian atmosphere on its own. After a fiery red-hot entry, the Probe will shed its protective heatshield and descend by parachute through the atmosphere of Jupiter, sending data back to the Orbiter until the heat and pressure of the Jovian atmosphere destroy the descent module.
How can the Probe be tested at Earth to make sure that it will work at Jupiter? The only practical way was to lift a test Probe high above the Earth by balloon and drop it.
The test Probe was built by General Electric Co., subcontractor to Hughes Aircraft Co., the prime contractor to the Probe developer, NASA's Ames Research Center. The balloon was provided by the Air Force Geophysical Laboratory, and final tracking and recovery was coordinated at Holloman Air Force Base.
Wind conditions were monitored carefully until the right conditions existed for the test. Not only did the winds have to blow from east to west at these altitudes, but they had to blow fast enough to carry the balloon over White Sands before the batteries ran out onboard the Probe and the supporting Air Force gondola. The drop also had to occur in daylight so the events could be recorded on film.
The Probe was held in the Air Force gondola, which is like an upside-down basket. The gondola provided predrop power, heating, movie cameras, and other balloon-related equipment.
Details of the balloon flight
Balloon launched on: 7/17/1983
Launch site: Roswell Industrial Air Center, New Mexico, US
Balloon launched by: Air Force Geophysics Laboratory (AFGL)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 7/17/1983
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ):
Landing site: Over White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, US, USA
If you consider this website interesting or useful, you can help me to keep it up and running with a small donation to cover the operational costs. Just the equivalent of the price of a cup of coffee helps a lot.
