SCIENTIFIC BALLOONING IN THE USSR

Launching of stratospheric scientific balloons is carried out in the USSR for experimental research in the frontier area. Most of these balloons are launched from Volsk Balloon Station, which is situated at the northern latitude of 52-degrees. Long duration flights are obtained, when they are launched from P Kamchatka at the eastern border of the USSR and recovered from the western part. A total float duration of 150 hr is obtained at a mean altitude of 30 km, with a scientific payload of weight about 600 kg. An international collaboration has been initiated for the future long duration flights at a lower latitute of about 40-degrees-N. A successful balloon flight was also carried out, in which the balloon was launched from China near Beijing and recovered from the western part of the USSR.