Ozone-monitoring balloon makes first Helena launch

Balloon travels 112 miles — a record for the Borealis Project — to land near Great Falls.
A slight breeze, sunny skies and a wide-open field — perfect conditions for the first-ever
launch of an experimental balloon from Carroll College.

By LAURA TODE, IR Staff Writer

The balloon released Monday was part of the Montana Space Grant Consortium’s Borealis
Project, which promotes learning opportunities for students in math and science and
promotes the development of technology in the state. The program is based out of Montana
State University in Bozeman.

The Carroll College launch was the project’s first from Helena but the eighth in the history
of the Borealis Project since it began little more than a year ago. The latex, high-altitude
weather balloon is capable of rising to a height of 95,000 feet. As the atmosphere thins, the
balloon swells to almost 40 feet in diameter before the increasing pressure causes it to
explode.

Throughout the flight, a small monitor, contained in the uppermost box, will be measuring
the ozone and temperature in the atmosphere every 10 seconds and storing the data on a
small on-board microprocessor.
Borealis Project Associate Director Dave Klunpar said the readings taken during the Helena
flight and on previous flights will be combined with data from sources throughout the West
to provide a regional profile of the health of the ozone layer and to see how it compares to
other areas worldwide.

“It’ll be the first ozone readings to come out of Montana,” Klunpar added.
Ozone, a gas found in a layer of the atmosphere about 12 to 30 miles above the earth’s
surface, filters harmful UV rays from the sun. Recent studies have suggested that the
ozone layer is thinning, which could lead to an increase in skin cancer and cataracts.
In a box beneath the balloon is a global positioning system, or GPS, which allows the team
to precisely track the balloon and find the payload once the balloon explodes.
The team follows the balloon in a chase vehicle, but if they happen not to be the first souls
on the scene, the orange boxes are marked with tags identifying the contents and to whom
they belong.

Monday, the balloon traveled 112 miles, the longest flight in the history of the Borealis
Project, after achieving a height of 83,835 feet. The payload landed in heavy brush north of
Great Falls, with all systems operational.
According to a report from the team, the flight was a success. Data from the Helena
launch, including photos, will be posted in the coming weeks on the Borealis Web site.
This summer, a Butte school teacher is working with the team, learning more about the
project in an effort to make science and mathematics more relevant for her students.
“One of the biggest things I want to take back to them is that physics isn’t dull,” teacher
Sandy Shutey said.

The launches also have amassed a following among amateur radio operators because the
team uses ham radios to communicate as they track the balloon.
Reporter Laura Tode can be reached at 447-4081 or by e-mail at [email protected].

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