microBLOON 3.0

The objective of the flight was to test the behavior, strength and suitability of an inflatable pressurized payload capsule for microbloon, a mockup of the Bloon capsule that the spanish company Zero To Infinity is developing for manned flights in the near future.

The mockup pod, was designed and manufactured by Thin Red Line Aerospace, the Canadian company that provides the inflatable pressure hulls for the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis spacecraft. It was built using Thin Red Line's proprietary Ultra High Performance Vessel architecture developed in the context of the NASA Space Exploration Program.

Balloon launched on: 9/6/2013
Launch site: Cordoba Airport, Andalucia, Spain  
Balloon launched by: ISTAR (International Science Technology And Research)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon  
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 9/6/2013
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): 3 h 10 m
Landing site: Near Pozoblanco, Andalucia, Spain

The balloon was launched from the airport of Cordoba on September 6, 2013. After a nominal ascent phase the balloon reached a float altitude of 27 km that was maintained during 53 minutes of flight. Once the mission was completed, the payload was separated from the balloon and started to descent under his own parachute. Landing occured about 60 km north of Cordoba for a total flight time of 3 hours and 10 minutes.

All the operations and recovery were led by Steven Peterzén, from The ISTAR Group, a leading expert in stratospheric balloons. This launch served as further training for the Zero 2 Infinity crew.

• Bloon project Zero to infinity website
• Microbloon 3.0 Flies to the Edge of Space from Córdoba Zero to Infinity press release