Dari Dexheimer, Sandia National Laboratories’ tethered-balloon expert, and her team prepare the 22-foot-wide, tethered, helium balloons for launch on a gorgeous fall morning. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

Tethered balloon system put to the test

November 10, 2021 8:00 am Published by

A series of tethered balloon system (TBS) test flights conducted by Sandia were recently featured on the website of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. The ARM facility contributes to national and international climate research efforts.

Managed by Sandia’s Dari Dexheimer and with technicians Casey Longbottom, Brent Peterson, RaeAnn Cook, and Garth Rohr, the flights were in support of SAIL—the Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory campaign.

Dexheimer and teams at Sandia have operated many TBS flights in recent years, including tests to ensure the safety of new solar-power technology and even alongside unmanned aerial systems in the Arctic to collect precise weather and climate data.

Read the feature.

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