High-altitude ballooning programme at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics

Abstract

Recent advances in balloons and in electronics have made possible scientific payloads at costs accessible to university departments. The primary purpose of high-altitude ballooning programme is to test low-cost ultraviolet payloads for eventual space flight, but to also explore phenomena occurring in the upper atmosphere, including sprites and meteorite impacts, using balloon-borne payloads. This article discusses the results of three tethered balloon experiments carried out at the Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) campus of IIA, Hosakote and our plans for the future. We also describe the stages of payload development for these experiments.