29 October 2024

Preparing the BalMan balloon at Europe’s spaceport

As part of the BalMan campaign, a stratospheric balloon will take off at night from Europe's spaceport between 30 October and 15 November. 

The BalMan campaign is currently being prepared at Europe’s spaceport. This experimental mission will take off at night, between 30 October and 15 November, before landing and being recovered at sea—off the coast of the Salvation Islands—in the early hours of the morning.

 

What exactly is BalMan? 



BalMan is a manoeuvring balloon project designed and manufactured by HEMERIA under the direction of CNES.

 

The special feature of this double-envelope balloon will be its ability to manoeuvre between different altitudes (between 16 and 22 km) so that it can use different wind currents to rectify its trajectory, unlike a conventional balloon that is subject to the force (and direction) of the winds carrying it.

 

Controlled from the ground by French Space agency teams, BalMan will be able to carry a payload of around 50 kilograms for a wide range of Earth observation, telecommunications, defence and civil security applications, by virtue of the balloon's ability to hover over the same geographical area at a high altitude.
 

Entraînement de l'équipe du projet BalMan depuis Aire sur Adoure - Sept 2024

The BalMan project team training at Aire-sur-Adour - Sept 2024.

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