An Investigation of Techniques for Launching Large Balloon Systems from Aircraft or Rockets in Flight

Abstract

The requirements for placing a military payload (communications relay, electro-optical sensor, etc.) in the sky at short notice are identified. A demonstration aircraft-launched balloon system is proposed and the basic assumptions defined. The balloon size and mass of inflatant to be carried aloft are calculated. Compressed gas and cryogenic storage systems are compared. The weight of storage tank/lift ratio is used to demonstrate the superiority of cryogenic storage. The properties of liquid helium and liquid hydrogen are discussed with respect to safe long term storage. The heat needed to vaporize the cryogens and to warm the resultant inflation gases is calculated. Methods of generating and transferring the required heat at the time of inflation are described.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 09, 1973
Accession Number
AD0776779

Entities

People

  • Andrew S. Jr Carten

Organizations

  • Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Aircrafts
  • Cargo Aircraft
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Products
  • Critical Temperature
  • Energy
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Of Vaporization
  • Heat Transfer
  • Phase Transformations
  • Specific Heat
  • Thermal Propulsion Systems
  • Thermodynamics
  • Transport Aircraft

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Fault Tolerant Diagnosis of Black and White Balloon Isolation Tests Using ¥.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.