ARLA/CLUSTER: PS-32:Radio-balão australiano acaba por cair entre a América do Sul e a Áfrca do Sul

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Latest VK pico balloon ends flight

Launched from Melbourne on Australia Day, January 26 the small
party-type balloon PS-32 made steady southern route progress to be
tracked to South America, but after several days of silence it now
seems lost.

Early hopes that the small solar-powered flight at high altitude may
be the victim of darkness and poor propagation, have now been dashed.

Andy Nguyen VK3YT who launched the balloon said: "It appears that
PS-32 has gone down somewhere between South America and South Africa."

That was not the best of news, but Andy VK3YT who has learnt a
terrible lot in his series of launches so far, thanked the many radio
amateurs who tracked its path.

Another balloon PS-33 launched from Melbourne early on Sunday February
1, on a tricky Australian inland route, was lost early due to a
hardware failure.

The longest distance travelled the Southern Hemisphere was PS-30 that
lifted off from Melbourne in late December, lasted 20 days before poor
weather brought it down near Madagascar.

Further pico balloons in the series are expected, with a team of
international trackers ready to follow the telemetry data emitted that
enables measurement of flight movement, altitude and speed.

Jim Linton VK3PC