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Skyhook balloons were high-altitude balloons developed by Otto C. Winzen and General Mills. They were used by the United States Navy Office of Naval Research (ONR) in the late 1940s and 1950s for atmospheric research, especially for constant-level meteorological observations at very high altitudes. Instruments like the Cherenkov detector were first used on Skyhook balloons.
Balloons, long used for collecting meteorological data, now offered the opportunity of collecting highly specialized information and photographs. The first Skyhook balloon was launched on September 25, 1947. The balloon was developed by the Aeronautical Division of General Mills. Final Report: Project 85012, Report No. 1227, General Mills, Inc, Mechanical Division, Engineering Research & Development Department, September 4, 1953. It carried a payload of nuclear emulsion to over . At low level immediately after launch, the lifting gas (hydrogen or helium) in the balloons formed a small bubble at the top of the envelope, resulting in the balloon having a "limp" look. At the lower air pressure at higher altitudes, the gas expanded and eventually filled the whole envelope forming a sphere or ovoid. In some models the balloons could reach diameters of more than . 'Sunday Ship History: Skyhooked', EagleSpeak.us website, January 21, 2008.
In the succeeding 10 years, over 1,500 Skyhook flights were made for investigations supported by the ONR and for European scientists. These flights were made from locations in the United States, Canada, and naval vessels in the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean Sea, and Arctic Ocean waters. Both Winzen Research and General Mills participated in these launchings, and in later years, the Atomic Energy Commission joined ONR in support of Project Skyhook.
Among significant flights, Project Skyhook launched the first successful three-balloon cluster in 1948. Then in 1949 the first shipboard Skyhook launch took place. It was followed by nearly 300 shipboard launchings over the next 10 years.
The first manned plastic balloon flight under ONR contract took place in 1949. Project Rockoon, in 1952, featured a Skyhook balloon that released small Deacon rockets at about above arctic waters.
One of the first known attempts to carry out an astrophysical measurement from a plastic balloon occurred under the Skyhook program on June 30, 1954. During the solar eclipse on that date two Skyhook balloons were launched by Winzen Research with camera gondolas employing simple orientating systems.Suomi, V. E and Beson, E. E. Astronomical Observations from a Skyhook Balloon. Winzen Research, Inc. Technical report #1150-R, February 1955 The objective was to photograph the eclipse from high altitude. Varied photographic equipment was carried and aimed at the Sun to obtain full coverage for the total period of totality.Ross, Malcolm D., Office of Naval Research. Plastic Balloons for Planetary Research. Presented at the Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Astronomical Society. January 31, 1958
On September 7, 1956, the University of Minnesota launched a giant Mylar balloon (developed by the G. T. Schejeldahl Corporation of Northfield, MN) to set an unofficial balloon altitude record of for unmanned balloons. In 1957 the US Navy began an operational aerology system known as Transosonde (trans-ocean sounding), consisting of almost daily balloon flights across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.
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