The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) will be launching 10 scientific balloons into the sky for conducting scientific researches from November 15 to April 13 with the support of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Atomic Energy.
The balloons will carry scientific instruments for research at high altitudes and according to the expectations, the balloons can reach at a height between 30km to 42km depending on the weight of the instrument being undertaken.
Balloons are filled with Hydrogen Gas and are made of twin (polyethylene) plastic films, ranging in from 50 mtrs to 85 mtrs in diameter and are usually launched between 9 p.m. and 6.30 a.m.
Balloons will be launched carrying scientific instruments from the TIFR’s balloon facility at Hyderabad. The drifts will be on the Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad-Sholapur line in the areas of Andhra Pradesh, North Karnataka and Maharastra States.
Expected regions that will be covered in flight are- Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal, Khammam, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Adilabad districts of Telangana.
After the flight, the balloon will come to the ground in large colored parachutes. The loaded instruments may land anywhere within 350kms from Hyderabad.
“People are requested to contact the nearest Police Station, Post Office and district authorities about the finding. Instruments are kept inside wooden cages or large aluminum framework/containers for safety,” said B Suneel Kumar, Scientist-in-charge, TIFR. “The instruments are extremely sensitive and valuable, scientific data will be lost if they are tampered. There may be high voltages on some of the instruments, which will be dangerous, but only if the instruments are opened up,” he added.