17 March 2004 Click image for full size!
Such a pretty day, power plant exhaust and all! But not only was it St. Patrick's Day, but also the day of my very first totally solo ozone sonde balloon launch! Here, you can see a jittery video of a balloon inflation at the BIF (you can see it above to the left veiled in exhaust to the right of the large liquid helium tank). And here, you can see me launch it one-handed style. The sound you hear is the payout reel letting off string (think of it as a clutch between the sonde and the orange parachute) and of the air pump going inside the sonde styrofoam box.