MSAM-1 (Medium-Scale Anisotropy Measurement)

A balloon-borne instrument to make measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy on angular scales between 0.5 and 3 degrees. The experiment uses a one meter, off-axis Cassegrian telescope, coupled with a four spectral band radiometer. The pointing for the experiment is controlled by a platform which was originally built in the early 1980's by a group at GSFC to map the Galactic plane (FIRS instrument).

Balloon launched on: 6/2/1994 at 1:00 utc
Launch site: Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, Texas, US  
Balloon launched by: National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon SF3-459.37-080-NSXC-ST
Balloon serial number: W39.57-2-04
Flight identification number: 1532P
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 6/2/1994 at 13:34 utc
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): F 10 13 m
Landing site: 25 miles W of Odessa, Texas, US

This second flight was intended to make observations of the same region of sky than in the first flight. It produced a measurement in statistical agreement with the 1992 observation.

• MSAM website (Archived) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• MSAM1-94: Repeated Measurement of Medium-Scale Anistropy in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Astrophysical Journal Letters v.456, p.L71
• A Balloon-borne Millimeter-Wave Telescope for Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Measurements Astrophysical Journal v.470, p.63
• A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) Anisotropy at the Half Degree Angular Scale Thesis by Inman, Casey Ann (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 1996
• First Results from the 1994 Flight of the Medium Scale Anisotropy Measurement Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 26, p.1510
• Microwave Mappers Sweat Details SCIENCE - 25 Mar 1994 - Vol 263, Issue 5154 - pp. 1682-1684
• NASA Balloon Flights (1989-1998) in NASA Historical Data Book, Vol. VII: NASA Launch Systems, Space Transportation, Human Spaceflight, and Space Science, 1989-1998
• The MSAM/TopHat Program of Anisotropy Measurements Astrophysical Letters and Communications, Vol. 32, p.273