Early Wednesday morning, a stratospheric balloon was launched from Nordmela on Andøya as part of an international collaboration project.
From a calm Andøya, Andøya Space and its Danish partner Spaceline released a stratospheric balloon from Nordmela early Wednesday morning.
“It was a textbook balloon launch,” says Tony Klæboe, Director of Staff at Andøya Space Defence. “We had good communication with Avinor, and as soon as we got the green light, the balloon was released.”
The balloon flight is part of an international collaboration project called IRSA, where industry partners come together to develop a system for situational awareness in the Arctic region.
“We are developing and testing a system that collects data from satellites, manned aircraft, aerial and maritime drones—and now balloons,” Klæboe explains. “Balloons are highly capable platforms and can operate when other aircraft are grounded. Just like in 2010, when we were all stranded due to the major volcanic eruption in Iceland.”
The balloon flew over Andøya and out into Andfjorden, where the flight was concluded in a controlled manner off the coast of Dverberg. This is done by letting it descend by parachute.
“We had a boat in the area that retrieved both the balloon and its payload. We have now received large amounts of data from the sensors we tested today. Everything worked as expected, and the test has been a success,” he concludes.
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