TIFR to launch 10-balloon flights for research

The balloons filled with Hydrogen gas, carrying scientific instruments will be launched from the Balloon Facility of TIFR, ECIL, Hyderabad, between 8 pm and 6.30 am.

Hyderabad: The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is conducting 10-balloon flights for scientific purposes starting November second week. The research is being conducted by the TIFR under the auspices of the Department of Atomic Energy and ISRO.

The balloons filled with Hydrogen gas, carrying scientific instruments will be launched from the Balloon Facility of TIFR, ECIL, Hyderabad, between 8 pm and 6.30 am. The scientific instruments are carried to reach altitudes between 30 km and 42 km and kept at those heights for periods ranging from a few hours to 10 hours and then released from the balloon, TIFR Scientist–in–charge B Suneel Kumar explained.

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During ascent and at ceiling, the balloons will drift with prevailing winds and the instruments could land at points as distant as about 200 to 350 km from Hyderabad. The balloon drifts will be on the Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad-Solapur line.

After release, the instruments will come down to ground on large coloured parachutes. The expected regions of impact of the payload after release are – Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Hyderabad, Jagtial, Jangoan, Jayshankar Bhupalpally, Jogulamba Gadwal, Kamareddy, Karimnagar, Khammam, Kumuram Bheem, Mahabubabad, Mahabubnagar, Mancherial, Medak, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Peddapalli, Rajanna Sircilla, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Siddipet, Suryapet, Vikrabad, Wanaparthy, Warangal, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts.

Suneel Kumar said the instruments were extremely sensitive and valuable and scientific data would be lost if they were tampered with. There may be dangerous high voltages on some of the instruments only if the instruments were opened, otherwise they were safe and harmless, he said.

People who find the parachute and instruments were urged not to remove them from its place of landing and asked to contact the nearest police station, post office and district administration. Scientists carrying out these experiments would then collect the instruments and pay the finder a suitable reward, he said, adding that no reward will be paid if the instrument is found opened or tampered with.