THE LIGHTWEIGHT TRANSOSONDE SYSTEM.
Abstract
A new lightweight transosonde airborne system was developed. The new system, which consists of a lightweight plastic balloon and two small (1 cu ft) instrument packages, has been tested in a series of 50 flights over the Atlantic. After initial problems of balloon configuration and equipment limitations were resolved, a high percentage of successful flights was achieved. The balloon is a pressurized sphere (12.5 ft diameter) made of 0.002-in.-thick Mylar plastic. It weighs approximately 20 lb and will withstand 50 to 60 millibars internal pressure. The instrumentation consists of: (1) a dual-frequency crystal-controlled 30-watt high-frequency transmitter, (2) a power supply consisting of a battery made up of silver zinc cells supplying the low dc voltage (7.5), and a dc-to-dc converter supplying the high voltage (300 v, 600 v), and (3) a Morse code encoder and appropriate meteorological sensors (ambient pressure, ambient temperature, and balloon internal pressure). The instrumentation is housed in two plastic (polyurethane) packages. Each package, including instrumentation, weighs about six pounds. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 30, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0431799
Entities
People
- G. Welch
- Jeffery Allen
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory