California company will try launching tiny satellites with balloons

Sacramento Bee ^ | January 5, 2004 | Associated Press

[Holly_P]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - An unconventional California company has won a $200,000 contract with the Air Force Space Command to develop a way to launch one-pound micro-satellites quickly and cheaply using big balloons. "We're masters of the really cheap stuff," said John Powell, founder of J.P. Aerospace, based outside Sacramento.

[baltodog]

Who'd a' thought?

Wait! Wait! I gotta' try something.....

Here, Kitty, Kitty....

[NonValueAdded]

NIRT Sats?

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[roadcat]

"With 50 volunteers and a handful of paid staff members, J.P. has put 3,000 pingpong balls into space in an educational project for schoolchildren."

Sure it's for kids, right! I think maybe it's part of some SDI project testing. With the right kind of satellite based gun platform, that could be lots of fun searching for 3,000 pingpong balls in low Earth orbit!

[KellyAdmirer]

But I thought we had to build a trillion-dollar space elevator to get things into orbit cheaply?

[gg188]

Does anyone know what happens when an orbiting ping pong ball hits a shuttle or space station?

[roadcat]

"Does anyone know what happens when an orbiting ping pong ball hits a shuttle or space station?"

For every action applied there's an equal and opposite reaction. Saw this in a Dr. Who episode. He got marooned outside between space ships. So he repeatedly threw a rubber ball against one ship to propell himself in the opposite direction. Of course you have to factor in the speed of the ball, anything much more than 200mph and you may have a problem! (Aren't things whizzing around up there at about 17,500mph?)

[Dog Gone]

The disadvantage of the system is that micro-satellites will stay aloft only for about three weeks before burning in the Earth's atmosphere.

I'd call that something more than a disadvantage.

[KernFarmer]

The disadvantage of the system is that micro-satellites will stay aloft only for about three weeks before burning in the Earth's atmosphere.

Good grief three weeks, the only thing that would be good for is a spy satellite for short term reconnaissance. hmmmmmmm....

[mrsmith]

Old stuff!

I believe they did the very same thing in the fifties.
The Rockoon, BATO and Farside balloon/rocket programs.

[Bean Counter]

Sounds like someone took a chapter right out of a Dale Brown novel....remember the "Need It Right This Second" satellites?

Sweet!

[taxcontrol]

Ok, I have this vision of a donut shaped ballon with a small tube attached to the base shooting via compressed air or steam a rocket another 500 feet or so straight up and then the rocket motor kicking in.