Joint ERT and Coast Guard operation safely recovers stratospheric balloon |20 February 2021
The equipment after it had been brought ashore (Photo: Jude Morel)
By Roland Duval
A combined operation by the Seychelles Coast Guard and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) early on Thursday ended in the safe recovery of a high altitude communication balloon, flying up in the stratosphere and planned to land in the sea near Mahé.
High-altitude balloons are crewed or un-crewed balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen, that are released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 18 and 37 km (11 and 23 mi; 59,000 and 121,000 ft) above sea level.
The most common type of high-altitude balloons are weather balloons.
Other purposes include use as a platform for experiments in the upper atmosphere.
Modern balloons generally contain electronic equipment such as radio transmitters, cameras, or satellite navigation systems, such as GPS receivers.
According to Fred Moinet and Sylvain Caburet of the ERT, they were contacted by a group of scientists who were seeking for help with the recovery of the balloon and given the needs for a high speed search at night, the assistance of the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) was requested.
According to Messrs Moinet and Caburet, once the stratospheric balloon loaded with electronics would have touched the water, it would have sunk within minutes, while its landing site was constantly moving due to the winds.
They are therefore grateful that the SCG wholeheartedly agreed to jump in and offered its service.
Messrs Moinet and Caburet also explained that remotely from Madagascar and the United States of America, the scientific team controlling the balloon turned on the locating strobe light and initiated the descent sequence from 61,000 feet in the sky and as the trajectory was entering the Seychelles’ air control, the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) was also involved.
“This amazing joint effort by the ERT and the SCG allowed for a swift recovery of the equipment, and at sea and at night, to recover a stratospheric balloon coming down at seven (7) metres per second was no small feat,” they added.
“The exceptional performance and response from the SCG is to be recognised, both for their quick reactivity as well as precision. This joint effort allowed for swift successful recovery, avoiding a loss of scientific equipment as well as an environmental threat,” they added.
