Calculations have shown that launching a rocket from a balloon can be much cheaper than the usual launch from the Earth. This saves fuel and reduces overall costs. By launching a rocket from a balloon, huge savings can be achieved, while the cost of manufacture and maintenance will be very low. Such a carrier will not go into orbit, but for studying various issues at the lower boundary of space, this is a working solution, which has been proven in China.
On Sunday, the rocket was launched from a large balloon from Lenghu in northwest Yunzhou province, according to Chinese media. This was the first significant technological breakthrough in launching this type of rocket, according to Zhang Yichi, CEO of Xingjian Tianhang. He did not give details of the so-called breakthrough.
The rocket and balloon were jointly developed by Xingjian Tianhang Space Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This approach can be widely used to study the so-called near space at altitudes from 20 to 100 km, where airplanes no longer reach and satellites cannot descend. Rockets can be used to study the Earth’s atmosphere and other tasks.
The balloon was designed to launch aircraft and is filled with helium at zero pressure. During the change in atmospheric pressure, the shell retained its integrity in order to rise to a given height and launch a rocket.
The obvious disadvantage of launching rockets in this way is that the balloon has very little controllability and dependence on weather conditions. But the weather forecast is now made accurately, it is not difficult to calculate the exact start time.