SPACE
TARGET
Air
Force to bounce lasers off Tustin-made balloon
October
29, 1999
By
GARY ROBBINS
The
Orange County Register
| |
EUGENE
GARCIA/The
Orange County Register
Engineer Koorosh Guidanean stands next to a replica of the sphere
to be launched November 19. |
The U.S. Air Force is preparing to launch a locally-built
inflatable balloon into space so it can further refine its ability
to track high-flying satellites.
The highly-reflective silver-colored balloon was built by
L'Garde, Inc. of Tustin, which earlier made an experimental antenna
that was inflated above the earth in 1996, after being released
by the space shuttle.
After it's placed it space, the new balloon will automatically
inflate into a 12-foot diameter sphere about 430 miles above
the earth and remain in permanent orbit around the planet.
"The balloon looks like a humongous ball-bearing,"
said Koorosh Guidanean, the L'Garde engineer who managed to get
the inflatable structure designed and built in less than four
months, for less than $500,000.
The Air Force says it will bounce low-powered lasers off the
sphere during tests meant to improve the military's ability to
track and image satellites. The lasers will be fired from specially-equipped
telescopes at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force
Base in New Mexico.
POP-UP BALLOON: L'Garde's new tracking balloon will be
carried into space inside this 19-inch tall, 40-pound that's
one of the payloads that will be carried into orbit by a Minotaur
rocket. The balloon will inflate with nitrogen gas, producing
a 12-foot sphere that reflects about 90-percent of the light
that hits it. The sphere's high reflectivity makes it an ideal
tracking object for the U.S. Air Force. |
|
The Air Force says it must use low-power lasers to avoid
heating the surface of the balloon and destroying it. The balloon's
skin is thinner than a human hair.
The sphere, like Mir and the International Space Station,
will periodically be visible from Southern California.
The balloon is one of several pieces of scientific equipment
that will be lofted aboard a Minotaur rocket from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in Lompoc.
Register
science writer Gary Robbins can be reached at (714) 796-7970.
E-mail: grobbins@link.freedom.com
Top of page
