Earlier this summer, Smith & Williamson flew a new variant of the Boomerang Balloon Flight Control System inside of two different thunderstorms in Colorado and Nebraska. Known as the “Storm Balloon,” this new research platform was launched just before and after two storms. It was steered into the weather systems by taking advantage of varyingRead more about Storm Balloon[…]

Earlier this year we developed a reusable non-pyrotechnic line cutter, Doongara, for use on traditional,  latex balloon flight trains and tandem ballooning. By adding Doongara in a 2-balloon tandem flight train, we demonstrated advanced flight profiles that vastly increase a payload’s time at altitude. Depending on the amount of helium in the tandem configuration’s twoRead more about Tandem Ballooning with Doongara[…]

The Smith & Williamson Boomerang Balloon Flight Control System completed its second year of flights for the Balloon Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (BATAL) campaign. Lead by Jean-Paul Vernier of NASA’s Airborne Science Program, the BATAL research campaign includes researchers from India’s National Atmospheric Research Laboratory and the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. BATAL’s science goalRead more about Boomerang Balloon Atmospheric Research in India[…]

Smith & Williamson currently offers the only commercially available altitude control system for level flight with latex balloons and has sold units to university and NASA researchers. For more about Boomerang: The Complete Small Balloon Flight Control System, see here. History of Level Flight with Latex Balloons The idea of venting helium from a latexRead more about Level Flight with Latex Balloons[…]

The Boomerang Vent & Ballast Calculator is a critical tool for operators of the 4th Generation Boomerang Balloon Flight System. Using launch site, target altitude, and flight system parameters, the calculator displays: The initial helium fill volume and corresponding weigh-off weight to achieve a desired ascent rate, typically about 5 m/s. The estimated total ventRead more about Boomerang Vent & Ballast Calculator[…]

We ran into Lucidity and Techinstein of the Roswell Flight Test Crew at the AMA Expo back in January.  They interviewed us about our “RC Balloon” Boomerang system and wrote an accompanying post.

We put together a highlights video of the Boomerang High-Altitude Balloon System launch we conducted in February 2015.

Time-lapse video of the Boomerang Valve High-Altitude Operation. With two 1-minute vents we changed a 4.5m/s ascent rate to -4.5m/s descent rate.

The passive-parachute deployment system is a new way of deploying a packed parachute from low-speed aerial vehicles such as high-altitude balloons.

Back in December we wrapped up work on a new consumer product prototype. As part of our prototyping services, this project involved electronics, programming, and 3D printing. All of this was completed in a 12 day turnaround.