ADVISOR~ PANEL ~ I HE S~lENTlFlC USE OF MiETt.NC ..... 1 5 NOVEMBER 1965 TAR'_, 014 CONTENTS 1 .. Minut~s of th~ m?~t~ng of 16-17 Sept. 1964 2 . Acti'JnE-on pt'ior Pa.nel recommendations 3 . ~nnua1 R~po1 t 4 . Revi e ... Jf taci lLty a.c ci.vity in the current calenrja,-r y=!.ll' 5 . Ba llooning r ?qulrements 6 Azirnt.Lt 'r stabitizaci0n and startracker t'equirem~nts 7 . Progre 3~ .>n heavv load launch development Re quest by Dr balloon flight D~ lboui1lc of Belgium for 9 . Request by Dr . Lui& W. Alvarez of the Space Science~ Laborator y of the Uni versity of California for flight servic e s 10 w~t7r vapor mca~urem~nt c omparisons 11. Another e;0ato 1 ba1looning expedition sugg~<;ted 12 ElectioP of :~hairm2.n 13 . Date and time foy next meeting APPENDICES A . NCAR Panel 0n Scientific Use o f Balloons - -Minutes, 16-1 7 Sepcember L964. APPENDIX A. MINUTES PREVIOUS MEETING APPENDIX A. NCAR PANEL ON SCIENTIFIC USE OF BALLOONS MINUTES, 16- 1 7 SEPTEMBER 1964 . NCAR Panel on Scientific Use of Ball oon s 16-17 September 1964 The rnLeLing was c a lled to orde r at 1 : 00 p .m. on 16 September 1964 ~.>nth the following members present: James Angell, All~n Hynek, Urner LLudell and Edward Ney. Present from NCAR were; Thomas Bilhorn, Robert Kubara, Vincent Lally, Alvin Morris, Daniel Rex, Walter Roberts, Stanley Ruttenberg, Samael Solot and John Sparkman. Mr~ Morris indicate d that Ors. Peter Meyer, John Strong and Verne r Suomi were unable to attend. Dr. Suomi is &ssuming new duties at the Weather Bu r eau and was unable to get away; Dr. Strong is ill; Dr-Meyer wa8 unable to resolve a prior conatdtment. Since a new Department of Defe:1.:.e rtpresentative has not yet been na~ed, the DOD advisors were not invited. Dr. Rex asked the Panel's reaction to the new schedule of the meeting--starting at noon on one day and ending at noon the following dayo There was general agreement that the new schedule was excellent. Chairma~ N~y then called the Panel' s attent ion to Agenda Item 1 - oval o f MiPutes of Meeting of 19 May 1964, The Panel deferred act1on on thic m.::ttter t:.r..til the members could study the minutes more carefull y since none of them had been present at the l~st meetingo Discussion of Agenda Item 2 -The Palestine Clam~Shelter Building - initiated by Dr. Rex who commented that an inflation shelter has been on the Panel agenda and in NCAR's plans for the past two years. The Pane l had rr1ade 9uggestions and taken note of progress in the past. We now b~iiev~ that we have a practical and effective shelter plan and a realistic estimate of its cost. NCAR management has approved the plan for construction, but we wish to have Panel e ndorsement o f the plan before seeking NSF approval. Dr. Rex had written lette r s t o Dr. Alvin Howell and Dr. Martin Schwarzschild requesting their individual opinions as to the advisabil- ity o f l:~nRtructing the shelter. Copies of their responses (attached as AppP.nd).x. A) were distributed to the Panel members. Dr. Roberts then pointed out that the inflation shelter had been d8leted f rom the fiscal 1966 budget request with the u~derstanding that NSF would receive a request for supplemental funds for construction of the 31-::elter. He further stated tha.t he felt that the NCAR staff had dont! a magnificent job o f P.valuating the capabilities and usefulness of t 's ~hElt2r, Al~tovgh the staf[ a nd Dr. Roberts are completely c0-:'. J..Cced tra'" th~ ahe:l t e r will be a substantial asset to r.he ballooning program, Dr. Robert F felt t h e need of a fir mer endorsemen t f r om the Panel that the inflation shelter should be a positive goal for NCAR b~tore proceeding furthero ' . :t t~'" i:-~ilation shelter r.-l~n it c1 d..:J r:n..-t(~lowtng p r o posed ~:: . ':t t~ngtl) of the buildir.A ~ .. -\ it~ a,')1lity t o with stand ~--.i ,~;,.:.J : :v . i ,'\;,dir.g with varying dP.~:r~-"!E'S o f opening a ;_c! in vario-.Is c:,~ .. ~: , r.~..:o:ti.ve to t h e wind; incree . .3~d s:a.f~t:y o f flight operations; I::.' l '.1 ..;-:'" ... ity o f f ll.ght operations; b~tt:er r e rfO!;"Q'l'1r.e of &-ie.:t:!.fic A:1 i : ... ';c. . , : I t '\,.]a.s moved e.n d scc..,:~ded th,fit the Pat1.~1 er .. dorse Ak~ L. ~s forth~ co~structio~ ~i th~ t~.l'Jo~ i~flati)~ shelter .a.t.~Lh.~ d1 ussio-r1 of thP. tnfJatic"1 " .. --t ~ r i:tdL::-9.t e d that: RO-n~ '1... ,-r.: <'XLEt~d b~c~u~e the. coot '=Stur.at e \.J~s n..:>t a fir:n b i.:l &cd because tb"(:. t .. ~ ~(l !-Y.'l C-2 co:np.s.ri . .;on betwc.:n the clam shelter and other possible ,: ,:~ i .~ ~ . it ".vas poir.ted out that ~lCAR may hav;?. to wait two years to c...,L'd"1 funds t' ,) b"t:.ild a shel tt=!r ar.d that n o contr:ictor would make a bid ., : ' .i!d r~T.ain biading that ;c.~g. Also, oth~!:' desig~. configurati o n s ' . ~--~ ,_-Jr-stder e d and had b.?.e'1. ah a-.dcned f o r reasor,.:-1Nhic h 1 r .. cluded Q .. ;: ~ : r ength .s.n d u c i 1 i ty. D2 t ;..:.led cost compar tson~ d i.J r:o t I : ,for_ sr.~r:l warranted. NCAR f~i t th~: ~he cost ~s':iT-'1-te V..' a s ;;:.:. : , lt ~t.J c .::.s pcssible. Ag~ td~ Item 3 -Proposal for S upport o f the Spectro-Strato~cope : tn Progt4f..-n -was the next iteo~ of discussion. The Panel had 1.-!-: -~t.~d :::t t:h~ lc.st meeting t h a t we obtain connn~nts from out.3ide oi i.:(A.R. Ccpi~. c f tht-r-=.p:is~ t o Dr .. Rob~rts' enquiry we':e dist.rlb~Jted to th: Jar.~ (atta.ch~d as At:}Jt:ndix E). Mr. Laily indicat e d that Mr. S p a:. kmar.. .;-=~ te:::tativ~ly assiga~d to the p rogra m as r.1anager, that Ktepcr.bcuer . ., d.: 1d~c t o p.1rchasc: at. NC.A..R developed PCM system, and that K1e1'en.heuer --~ ;:or.~2ed t o ctc~J~ s~pport f o r b~!loocs, haliu~, e t c . from a US a g e ncy. ~t s10~ ~ffi~h~-1z~d thi~ th1s w a~ i&t~rnational ~ooperative program td. ~cue import.;.nc!' .;::1d that tl1~ SUfp ort required of NCAR is fundamentally 0 terdtiona]. i n nature. Action Nc. 2: The ~a l. cnrlor~ed the scientific objectives o th~ E_E gsal a r.a r~co:rrne~d:.: .that NCAR support the program_, 'v.it~ t h e v1derstandir.g th.at (..Ost:--tt; ,jCAR wo<>.ld be nominal sup.eo r t co&L~:t !t v7RS P) m?ve_d, ~:::.:-J: :'Dd carried unanimously. M-:.;,aity) ref.~rrt-~ :: A~e1da Item 4-ThF; IQSY Expedi.t{on i.:L r-~,-Jia~ ~i~-;c-t . . ':; .. ~J cb .. ! b<i,.r~grc,u:-i t ~the IQSY program. He said Lhat r~s!-'-.:-~ib:-...l ty f:.r tl:t. p1o g,rm. hnc:; bcP.n a~signed to the National Sci :tnL.~ Fcu:uiati(.e a~.d that NSF llt:.t! sug~csted ~h.=..t NCAR manage the program. I~. li~e with NCAR policy that we a void accepting and operating field p r o - ject:= ether than at our fixed b.:1.5es , it was decided that NCAR wou l d c.~ ntr.2ct witt! d n lndustrial group to run the program and that NCAR w~1:~d ~ro7ide ~program manager and a scientific coordinator . As .. ~ " L. c .h t~.-t: rt gram, NCAR r.:id sr-l::~L~d Winzen bti OO'lS \v!.th r-b~ -~ L i LL; a r ir.-.. thal 1-he balloons be !l13.'1Ufa.clur~d i n Mir.n ~dpol ~!:. w;..~h t !: .. ! /1. f '_()0 if.E.j:?Ctior by NC"AR, '2nd that ma::'l.ufc..c~uce b) Ac.Livn ~o. 3: Ir wB.s rr.oved -=-~.d S(;:C~ .. ,<i2.d th~t tbr~ Par.~l ~r. L;:ty ther, LiSked th'"! F':r: -::1 ~ cpi- !o-. cf NCAR s as3umption o f :hi-;. ty?r rf prc,gr.~m. I t w.'9s ; .. 1 .. t:r~u t~:.:t that rrcvi ous Po.~.F:l a dvice t J ' \CAR w:ts r:c _c..:-?.::-c. t hf: -:1-rt G:-r!d .-,t. _.~ Sl-:ii=~Y _ cc-.tracting agency. abilities t"J b2: t o.dvan cege whi~e ;t1::.. g:.Ji,.g 1-.dustry the oppor t unity t : rtic~rat~ end so rtt~i~ its c~pablLlty. 7h~ Pa~e} informally - rsLd Dr. N=!t~ sr~t: t that: che epproach t o t h e program a n d its .9t~ w1rh dtsc~ssio:l c f Age:.Ldo. lt'~:-:1 5 u A: <..] R~p.rt. Di3cussi o n was ,::;'. C."'- r.Pd <,.ith 1.1~-~.-s t..:: make the c;.r,.~l-ft: rc;v-~ Mure useful. Gen eral ( - t~ wtre that c.cst and budg~t tnfc!~etio~ Ehould b e adde d to the .. ghc ~.:tnt'I.S.rt\!.5; t hat a summary sh~c:t ~or;:! 1:1ghts t~ 1':\cluded to --.:t.: J.n n:ft>rrtng to or-.e partic.u:ar flight: th .. :., i.f Fossible, a com- r.l p h. irtld~d c-~., tc the sci~r.Ll~ic ;.;-.: . .:..~. "'Lt.c.in fd~ <'.i d that t:h e :!cc . tV ~.;f i (or~atl(Jr n~gardir:g ire. .... : tf'" ; -\.: 1.~c.:nt r&tc be carefull y :;_ r r,.~.:-\.,1"'. Jr:~cifically matc;ri.:.i~ r ~.:;r~ :~cr.. hlgh a) rJ..tude balloon s , ~.tie."~n ~'ar.ri~d :...--:a~imously. _ Action No 5: The Panel t ook note of and discussed the lq63 Annual 3e2ort , teco.tlllnen ding that _in the future each scientific project be deser ib_cd more f u ] J y and suggesting that a concise flight sun!'!ary ~-provid~d in Hh~ch page numbers of the detailed individual sum- ~aries are 6iven. Mr. Lally then distributed a statement con cerning actions taken by NCAR on rcconnnendations made by the Panel a t earlier meetings (attached as Append1x C) . The Pa~el th~n observed that there will be a notable e c l ipse during 1966 and discussed the possibility for use of balloons , including tethered balloons, for an expedition during the eclipse. Action No . 6: It was moved and seconded that NCAR make informal enquir x as to progress of the tethered balloon project at NOTS with a possibl~ view toward futur e cooperation. Motion carried unanimously. Action No. 7: It was moved and seconded that NCAR take note that a very auspicious total solar eclips~ will occur in May 1966 in South America and the South Atlanti~ which_will offer possibilities for sood eclipse observation s by ba~loon-borne i~struments. Motion carried unanimously. Foll owing the discussion o f NCAR action s on previous Panel recom- ation s , the Panel r eturned to Agenda Item 1 . Action No. 8 : It was regularl~ moved and seconded that the ~inutes of the pr~vious meeting be accepted as read. Motion pas s e d unanimously. The meeting was then a d j ourne d with out setting a time for anot her End of Minutes APPEND IX B. ANNUAL REPORT -1964 APPENDIX B. AHNUAL REPi'>RT ~-NCAR SCIENllFIC' BALLOON F AC I L I l'Y (Bound Separately ) APPENDIX C. INSTITUT D'ASTROPHYSIQUE APPENDIX C. INSTJ fUT D'ASTROPHYSIQUE REQUEST FOR BALLOONING SERVICES. Appendices, continued B. Annual Report --NCAR Scientific Balloon Facility. C. Institute D'Aslrophysique Request for Ballooning Services. D. University of California Request for Ballooning Services. E. University of Rochester Suggestion for an Equatorial Expedit ion. Dr. L. Uelbouille Universite de Lie~e Inatitut d'Astz~phylque Cointe-Scleaain B J:;LGIUt1 Dear Dr. Delbouillet 5 AURUSt 1965 Many thanks tor your letter of July 29th, which haa b .. n received while Dr. Roberts is away from the office. He will be happy to see it, togethr \.lith tlaE-oue f rom Dr. t_.igeotte, when he returna toward the and of the raont h . i~O.lnwh i.l e t r h;"lV~ ~:cnt your letter <ind enclosures on to Dr. D-nicl r. ;\ex wth> j f; ADsoci~te Director of NCAR and Director of the l"ucilitie~ Divi,;ion. The decision as to the achedul6ng of your ex- periaent will be in h~nda, so I' sure you will be he~rlna Dr. Rex or one of his colleagues directly. With best wishes. CCI D. F. Rex Sincerely, Stanley Rut~enbra Aaaiatant to Dr. Roberta INSTITUT D'ASTROPHYSIQUE COINTE-SCLESSIN (BELGIQUE) Dr. W.O. ROBERTS Director -National C ente r for Atmospheric Researc h BOULDER (Colorado) Dear Dr. Roberts, Now bac k in B elgium, we have, Dr. Roland and myself, t o thank again you and your collaborators (in particular Mr. A. L. Morris) for your excellent reception, the hel p and all the advices which have been given to us during our last visit. We have also visited the balloon facilities in Holloman Air Force Base, and our opinion is now clear. The telemetry and ground command possibilities offered by the NCAR do fit muc h better our experiment, so we have no more any reason to hesitate. You will find, here enclosed, a "more official" letter signed by Prof. Migeotte, and applying formally for NCAR collaboration to fly our gondola. Confident that our proJe c t will be considered with attention, we thank you again, and repeat that we will be pleased to receive you at the Jungfraujoch. Very sincerely yours, L. DELBOUILLE INSTITUT D'ASTROPHYSIQUE COIN TE-SCLESSIN (BELGIQUE) Dr. W. 0 . RORER TS DirP ctor -National Center for A tmosph>ric Res<:'ar c h BOULDER, Col orado Dear Dr. Rob P r1 s : Drs . D Pl bouille and Roland told me how instructive has been their visjt to NCAR, and h o w good are the facilities of the Pale stine base. As you alrPady know, we are preparing now, with the support of the b e lgid.n govE-rnment, a balloon-borne experiment to study the solar spe ctrum, a t high resolution, in the 1. 2 to 3 microns region. You will find, here enclosed, a brief report about these plans. May l uff:icially apply t o receive the assistance of NCAR to fly our gondola, at your bes t condit:ions ? We a ctually hope to be r eady for a first flight at the end of the autumn 1966. NCAR t e l emetry and ground command facilities will fulfill perfectly our requirements, enabling us, in fact, to increase the flexibility and the efficiency o f the first planned instrumentation. If this d emand receive s your attention, we will b e pleased, of course, to provide you any suitable additional information. M. MIGEOTTE . Tentative report Liege program of hig h resolution solar spectroscopy from a balloon The study of the solar spectrum i n the lead sulfide region (more precisely b etween 1. 2 and 3 microns) is an important problem. Some hydrogen and helium lines appear i n that domain, in addition to many other solar lines o f relatively high excitation potential. The Michigan atlas, recorded in 1949, is still the only publication covering the parts of this region that we can reac h from the ground. Its resolving power of about 30,000 (0. 1 em -l) is not suffi - cient to give the possibility of studying the profiles of the majority of the solar lines and it seems now feasible to remap the same regions, from a high altitude station, using the latest possibilities of cooled PbS cells and of high efficiency. We plan to start such a program in about one year, using the facilities of our laboratory at the Jungfraujoc h station. However, it will be v ery useful to extend the same kind of observa- Uons to fill the ''gaps" i n the Michigan atlas due to telluric water vapor bands. A high altitude balloon is a powerful tool for such a study, in spite of the fact that many water vapor and carbon dioxide l ines will still appear in the records . We must insist on the importance of reaching the highest possible resolution. Solar physicists are now much more interested in lines profiles, and in center to limb variations of these profiles, than in the simple detection of new solar lines with insufficient resolution. In any case, a high resolution will also help to resolve the blending of solar and remaining telluric lines. It is possible to estimate that a resolution of about 100,000 will be necessary to reach with sufficient accurac y the profiles of the majority of infrared solar lines. Actual gratings (single passed} have a theoretical resolu- tion of the order of 150,000 at 2. 5 microns and 300,000 at 1. 25 micron, but it seems difficult {even with the Jungfraujoch installation) to reach easily these values, the limitation being given by the insufficient sensitivity of the detectors. We have thus decided to design a balloon-borne equipment able to give the actually highest possible resolution, with a solar image of 50 t o 6 0 m'TI in diam~ter, as needed by the plans to study center to limb profiles variations. We hav~ had contacts with a few european colleagues : Dr. de Jager (Utrecht), Dr. Ncven (Brussels), Dr. Muller (Geneva). They are interested i n o\: ,: ffort t