Development of a long duration balloon program in the polar regions - Svalbard, Norway

The Italian Space Agency (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, ASI) in a joint effort with Andøya Rocket Range (ARR), anticipates launching a total of 3 'Pathfinder' balloons from Svalbard (Norway) during the 2003 summer. The balloons will carry a payload of a GPS/Argos transmitter for tracking. This campaign is designed to prove concept for launching larger Long Duration Balloons (LDB) in the future from this high latitude location. These small (75 cubic meters/0.265 mcf) balloons reach an altitude of +/- 5mb (127kft) and will circumnavigate the polar region between 78 and 80 deg. N. Making use of the Pathfinder balloons with a GPS/ARGOS payload for tracking purposes, this investigation will obtain a trajectory showing the stratospheric circulation pattern of stratospheric winds, diurnal excursions, and potential termination/impact locations for the future LDB flights.