SPIRALE (Spectroscopie Infra-Rouge par Absorption de Laser Embarqué)

Is a spectrometer with six tunable diode lasers dedicated to in situ measurements of trace compounds in the upper troposphere and the stratosphere up to 35 km altitude.

The 6 laser beams circulate in a multipass HERRIOTT cell located below the gondola. The lower mirror of the two-mirror cell is fixed at the top of a deployable mast. The distance between mirror is about 3.50 m. Given the curvature of the two identical mirrors, two stable optical configuration can be used : first 86 reflections and 300 m optical path, second 156 reflections and 554 m optical path, by moving the lower mirror 5 mm up.

The mast is deployed during the flight to have the first measurements at the tropopause. Around the instrument, a rigid metal frame encompasses it, in order to have a instrument-safe landing.

Inside the instrument, three liquid nitrogen cryostats, hold the six diode lasers and the 12 detectors.

Vertical profiles of concentrations of a great number of species like O3, CH4, CO, CO2, N2O, HNO3, NO2, NO, HCl, HOCl, H2O2, and COF2, are measured with a very high vertical resolution, a high sensitivity and a high precision.

Balloon launched on: 1/21/2003 at 18:23
Launch site: European Space Range, Kiruna, Sweden  
Balloon launched by: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon model 150z Zodiac - 150.000 m3
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 1/23/2003
Campaign: ENVISAT  

• SPIRALE website Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement - Orleans
• ENVISAT validation with SPIRALE from 2002 autumn mid-latitude and 2003 winter arctic flights 16th ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research
• List of balloons launched from ESRANGE SSC Space website (via Archive.Org)
• MIPAS Ozone Validation by Stratospheric Balloon and Aircraft Measurements 2nd Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT, 2004
• Overview of SCIAMACHY validation: 2002-2004 Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 127-148, 2006
• Technical Note: Validation of Odin/SMR limb observations of ozone, comparisons with OSIRIS, POAM III, ground-based and balloon-borne instruments Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3385-3409, 2008
• The Validation of the Envisat Chemistry Instruments by Use of Stratospheric Balloons and Aircraft ENVISAT Validation Workshop (ESA SP-531). 9-13 December, Frascati, Italy
• Validation of MIPAS CH4 Profiles by Stratospheric Balloon, Aircraft, Satellite and Ground Based Measurements 2nd Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT, 2004
• Validation of MIPAS N2O Profiles by Stratospheric Balloon, Aircraft and Ground Based Measurements 2nd Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT, 2004
• Validation of MIPAS Temperature Profiles by Stratospheric Balloon and Aircraft Measurements 2nd Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT, 2004
• Validation of MIPAS-ENVISAT Version 4.61 Operational Data: NO2 2nd. Workshop on the Atmospheric Chemistry Validation of ENVISAT, 2004