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Away 38  Balloon Burst

Away 38 reached 99,340 feet. The vehicle carried two model rockets. In spite of heaters and insulation the motor 
were too cold and failed to ignite.  There was an HD video camera in line with the rocket launch boxes. The view is
look upward at a 56 degree angle. The camera didn't get the chance to capture the rockets in flight, however, 
they did record some amazing footage of the balloon burst. 

Here are some frames from the video.

The moment of balloon burst  clear failure  1/15 seconds into burst
The camera was almost completely dazzled out by the reflections off the balloon and deck structure. The balloon has actually
failed in the first image.
Upon magnification you can see fractures all around the perimeter.        

blowing off segments  The Roll  Parachute Deployment
The last four away vehicles did one roll after balloon burst before the being righted by the fins.                 Parachute deployment.

Leaving balloon remains behind.                            Good Chute! 
The vehicle has fallen away from the balloon debris, (upper right).      The best site of all. A good chute.

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This page was last edited on July 3 2009
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