History
The sudden occurrence in February 1987 of the explosion of "SN 1987A" supernova attracted the global attention of the scientific community generating a quest for detailed astronomical observations of the sky in the southern hemisphere, the only point from where it was noticeable the unusual phenomenon.
In that context, the French space agency (CNES) in conjunction with the Italian National Center for Research (CNR), and its Australian peers organized a field campaign to launch stratospheric balloons carrying astronomical instruments.
The chosen place to mount the operation was a small airfield located in the town of Charleville, in the southwest part of Queensland territory.
Two launches were carried out between October and November 1988. According to several sources there was another attempt to make other launches in 1992 but due to the bad weather that campaign was initially postponed and eventually canceled.
After that time the site will not again be used for these purposes.
Balloon launched list
| Date | Hour | Flight Duration | Experiment | Payload landing place or cause of the failure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/29/1988 | 19 h 31 m | AROME | --- No Data --- | |
| 11/25/1988 | 23 h 45 m | FIGARO II (French Italian Gamma Ray Observatory) | --- No Data --- |