ONE STEP CLOSER TO SPACE

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, SKYRORA CARRIED OUT THEIR FIRST SUCCESSFUL WEATHER BALLOON LAUNCH AHEAD OF TEST FLIGHTS NEAR THE CENTRE OF SCOTLAND.

Weather balloons carry transmitters that collect information concerning atmospheric pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed.

A parachute recovery system allows for safe landing of the transmitter, one of which belonging to Skyrora was recovered not so long ago by a citizen based in East Yorkshire.

Skyrora have recently begun to launch their own weather balloons for test purposes. Skyrora are using these weather balloons to measure the strength and direction of the wind at different heights.

Skyrora carried out weather balloon test launches from Penicuik House due to is convenience as a nearby location to practice the process from. They were used to relay speed and direction using GPS data to demonstrate where the wind was blowing. For future use, balloons will be launched before the rockets at Skyrora’s launch site.

Like other launch vehicle operators, Skyrora are preparing to fly weather balloons before their rocket launches, to measure the real wind profile immediately before flight. Whilst practising this Skyrora added a camera to one of their balloons to get their name “one step closer to space”.