EXPENDABLE AIR VHEICLES/HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON TECHNOLOGY

COLEMAN RESEARCH CORPORATION (CRC) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP THE CAPABILITY TO PERFORM COMPUTER SIMULATIONS OF UPPER-ATMOSPHERE BALLOON DRIFT PATTERNS. MODELS OF ZERO-PRESSURE AND SUPER-PRESSURE BALLOONS WILL BE DEVELOPED TO ACCOUNT FOR BUOYANCY, MASS PROPERTIES, AERODYNAMIC CONFIGURATION, PROPULSIVE CAPABILITY, AND OTHER PHYSICAL PARAMETERS WHICH INFLUENCE THE RESPONSE OF THE BALLOON SYSTEM TO EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS. AN ATMOSPHERE MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR REALISTIC ATMOSPHERIC PROPERTY VARIATIONS. THESE MODELS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO A MODULAR, CRC-PROPRIETARY FLIGHT SIMULATION. THE RESULTING PROGRAM WILL BE EXERCISED TO PRODUCE 24-HOUR BALLOON DRIFT PATTERNS AT A OMINAL OPERATING ALTITUDE OF 70,000 FEET AND ONE-YEAR DRIFT PATTERNS AT AN ALTITUDE OF 120,000 FEET. THE PRIMARY PRODUCT OF THIS EFFORT WILL BE PLOTS SHOWING BALLOON DRIFT PATTERNS FOR THE TWO SETS OF OPERATING CODITIONS. ALSO, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BALLOON MODELS AND THE ATMOSPHERE MODEL WILL BE DOCUMENTED.