Abstract:
We are beginning a program of high altitude balloon flights at the Indian Institute
of Astrophysics with the eventual goal of ultraviolet spectroscopy from high altitude
balloons. The primary purpose of these flights is to develop instrumentation for eventual
use in space but we also plan to investigate science problems in the upper atmosphere
including spectroscopy of meteor flashes in the UV and of lightning. These will require
both high speed and high dynamic range and we are developing the instrumentation for
the same.