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<DIV>I get about 200 fpm decent. Not a broken balloon.<BR><BR>-- <BR>73, Steve, K9DCI </DIV>
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<DIV>--- On <B>Sat, 3/24/12, R. Rochte <I><rochte@gmail.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
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<DIV id=yiv770736882>The descent rate right now is consistent with what I have seen from zero pressure balloons (including solar Montgolfieres) after sun down. Almost certainly not a burst event or anything like that - just a simple cooling of the gas. It's still a long way down to the tropopause from there and it will likely slow down as it approaches. If it does, indeed, drop below the tropopause before the sun comes up, then it will start to drop like a rock (well, not quite, but a lot faster than we're seeing now).
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<DIV>The big question is, how is their ballast-release controlled? There was a tweet earlier that seemed to suggest it was timer-based and should have already occurred by now. If there is also an active ballast release system on board (e.g., altitude dependent), then perhaps the flight is just getting started. </DIV>
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<DIV>73,</DIV>
<DIV>Robert KC8UCH<BR><BR>
<DIV class=yiv770736882gmail_quote>On Sat, Mar 24, 2012 at 7:52 PM, Greg D <SPAN dir=ltr><<A href="http://us.mc1126.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ko6th.greg@gmail.com" target=_blank rel=nofollow ymailto="mailto:ko6th.greg@gmail.com">ko6th.greg@gmail.com</A>></SPAN> wrote:<BR>
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<DIV>One more, 88,935 ft at 23:45z, but only 16mph. I hope it isn't looking out at the vast expanse of ocean ahead and chickening out. Where is that jet stream, anyway?<BR><BR>Greg KO6TH
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<DIV class=yiv770736882h5><BR><BR><BR>Lynn W. Deffenbaugh (Mr) wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">Could be a pop and tumble, although I hope not. At 89,662 feet, the copying Digi/IGate pair are right at the edge of the coverage footprint.<BR><BR><IMG alt="" src="cid:1.3073427333@web112614.mail.gq1.yahoo.com"> Note: 349 miles from balloon to digi and another 20 miles to the IGate.<BR><BR>Lynn (D) - KJ4ERJ - Author of APRSISCE for Windows Mobile and Win32<BR><BR>On 3/24/2012 7:15 PM, Greg D wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">Not so fast... <A href="http://aprs.fi/" target=_blank rel=nofollow>aprs.fi</A> just reported a ping at 23:11z. Dropped a bit in altitude and speed. It may be a long night.<BR><BR>Greg KO6TH<BR><BR><BR>Steve Noskowicz wrote:
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<DIV>Looks like we'll all be wondering until some time in the morning... Good luck Mr. Balloon.</DIV>
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<DIV>-- <BR>73, Steve, K9DCI </DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
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