Spaceport America may get near-space balloon flights

Posted on October 30, 2014 by LighterThanAirSociety

World View personnel prepare the company’s balloon smSource: Albuquerque Journal – abqjournal.com

By Kevin Robinson-Avila

Paying passengers may soon fly to the edge of space in massive balloons launched from Spaceport America.

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Principles of Aerostatics – A new book

Posted on October 29, 2014 by LighterThanAirSociety

aerostatics sqPrinciples of Aerostatics, a new book by John Taylor,  a lighter-than-air flight test engineer and consultant.

Principles of Aerostatics presents the complete theory of static lift for airships, aerostats and balloons.

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First Images of a Comet from a Stratospheric Balloon

Posted on October 29, 2014 by LighterThanAirSociety

Image aSource: The Applied Physics Laboratory of The Johns Hopkins University – jhuapl.edu

The images are the first ever taken of a comet from a stratospheric scientific balloon mission, and show that Siding Spring was undergoing an outburst event, during which it rapidly decreased in brightness over the course of just 30 minutes.

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Above and beyond: New surveillance system to guard against aerial, maritime threats

Posted on October 29, 2014 by LighterThanAirSociety

The aerostat — a large floating ballooSource: Channel NewsAsia – channelnewsasia.com

Singapore’s Aerostat System – a tethered balloon that uses low-level radar to detect threats as far as 200km away – will be deployed early next year.

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Lockheed Martin Extends Aerostat Mission By Providing Airborne Surveillance For U.S. Border Protection

Posted on October 28, 2014 by LighterThanAirSociety

LM-ptdsSource: Lockheed Martin – lockheedmartin.com

Working with the Army, Lockheed Martin is providing operational support for a Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) aerostat system that is being evaluated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) along the Southern border of the United States.

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