Suitable altitude for long-operated communication high altitude balloon with experimental flights

Abstract

High Altitude Platform (HAP) is a platform for many purposes e.g. remote sensing, communication, science experiment etc. Several countries are likely interested in research and development of HAP for communication since it combines the benefits of terrestrial and satellite systems. The objective of this paper is to find the suitable altitude to operate zero-pressure balloons, a type of high altitude platform which maintainable of desired altitude, for longest duration. This paper presents an experiment of zero-pressure balloon including design and development. The main parameters considered in this study are wind data and RF propagation. The wind data has been collected from several sources: from daily weather balloons recorded for 5 years and from the experimental balloon flights. This paper will discuss the suitable altitude for operating the zero-pressure balloons for longest duration without any control system. This paper shall also recommend altitude for further study.