Atmospheric Tidal Measurements at 50 Km from a Constant-Altitude Balloon

A balloon, the second in a series of high-altitide balloon flights, was launched to a record altitide of 50 km from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico on 22 September 1969. The 870,000 cubic meter, helium-filled, zero-pressure, polyethelene balloon served as a constant-level stable support for an instrument payload consisting of bead thermistor atmospheric and balloon-skin temperature sensors, thermal conductivity pressure gauge, a forward-scattering beta-ray atmospheric density gauge, chemiluminescent ozonesondes, a Geiger tube cosmic ray detector, and an accelerometer for the determination of the vertical component of balloon acceleration. Radar position-time data served to determine the wind velocity. The paper discusses specifically the variations in the observed balloon trajectory, the supporting rocketsonde-determined winds and the balloon-borne temperature sensor values as related to the existence of a diurnal atmospheric tide near 50 km. It also presents the related data obtained from the other instruments comprising the payload. (Author)