History

After the establishment on French soil of the first permanent launch base for stratospheric balloons in Aire Sur L'Adour the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), assumed the need for an alternative site from which to make such flights during the months when the winds over the region of Landes changed direction. The inability to make flights over the sea forced the agency to seek a place located in the east part of the country, but in a near location from the main base in terms of latitude. Two factors led to this condition: first because the southern part of the country have a lower population density and second because in the journey toward West the balloons reached a zone nearby Air Sur L'Adour.

Preparations od the Claire ballon launch at Gap-Tallard

After some studies and surveys in the departments of the east side of the country, the choice fell on a small airfield located in the Alpine town of Gap. The air station provides an ideal site for launching balloons not only by his location -in the midst of a valley- but the area generally presents very stable conditions in their winds pattern over the 25,000 meters. The formal inauguration of the center took place in 1966.

The infrastructure available there is obviously not the same than in the base at Aire Sur L'Adour . The only visible building is a hangar built by CNES that serves for the integration of payloads to be flown and to prepare the flight trains. The data transmission and reception to and from the balloons in flight is done through a relay station located at the top of the Ceusette mountain.

The flights take place each year between June and August.

Since June 2009 the balloon launch bases of Aire Sur L'Adour and Gap-Tallard are inactive as a result of an increment in the failure and safety requeriments on regard scientific ballooning. The greater population density, and the subsequent increasing of the air and ground traffic forced the aerial authorities to halt all balloon flights in France until a whole new strategy for solving safety issues could be outlined. This include the development of new control systems to make precision landings feasible among other factors.

Balloon launched list

DateHourFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
6/23/1967 ---SPECTROGRAPH--- No Data ---
6/24/1967 ---ASTROLABE - HELIOS I--- No Data ---
6/12/1968 4 hELECTRON DETECTOR--- No Data ---
6/19/1968 4 hELECTRON DETECTOR--- No Data ---
6/27/1969 F 7 h 30 mGAMMA RAY TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
7/5/1969 F 5 h 30 mGAMMA RAY TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
7/11/1969 F 1 h 45 mGAMMA RAY TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
6/11/1970 ---X-RAY DETECTOR--- No Data ---
6/22/1970 F 7 hPLASTIC SCINTILLATOR COUNTER--- No Data ---
6/24/1970 ---SPECTROGRAPH--- No Data ---
6/29/1970 F 6 h 10 mPLASTIC SCINTILLATOR COUNTER--- No Data ---
6/24/19717:26 utcF 6 h 39 mUV TELESCOPEIn Sainte-Nathalène, Aquitaine, France
6/30/197222:35 utc5 hHARD X-RAY DETECTOR--- No Data ---
7/6/1974 F 5 h 30 mX-RAY DETECTOR--- No Data ---
7/9/19747:00 local---INFRARED RADIOMETER--- No Data ---
6/14/19793:005 h 20 mSIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)--- No Data ---
6/14/1980 ---SIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)Balloon did not reached float altitude. Payload landed on a glacier in the French Alps.
6/16/198020:38 utc8 hMASS SPECTROMETER--- No Data ---
6/20/1980 F 3 h 55 mSIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)--- No Data ---
6/19/19814:02 utc14 hOPTICAL OZONESONDE--- No Data ---
6/24/1981 ---SOLAR SPECTROGRAPH--- No Data ---
6/25/198123:01 utc7 h 30 mOPTICAL OZONESONDE--- No Data ---
6/10/1982 ---MASS SPECTROMETER--- No Data ---
6/28/19836:10 utc10 hSIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)Payload landed in a long distance high voltage line 80 km NE of Aire sur L'Adour, Landes, France. Suffered no damage.
6/15/19846:15 utc9 hAGATHE--- No Data ---
6/16/1988 9 hCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---
6/26/1991 ----- No Data ----- No Data ---
7/6/1992V---SAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
7/17/1992V---SAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
9/25/19928:41 utc~ 5 hSIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)In a forest near Orange, Vaucluse, France
6/24/1993~ 18:00---SAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/13/199407:009 h 50 mGAP Campaign opening flight.--- No Data ---
6/15/199406:219 h 10 mCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---
6/17/19946:499 h 38 mELHYSA (Etude de L'Hygromérie Stratosphérique) + Aerosols--- No Data ---
6/18/199408:3910 h 12 mALIZE--- No Data ---
6/21/19948:409 h 52 mELHYSA (Etude de L'Hygromérie Stratosphérique) + H2O--- No Data ---
6/23/199407:003 h 39 mETNA (Equipement de Télécommunication Numérique pour Aérostat)--- No Data ---
6/27/199407:596 h 56 mETNA (Equipement de Télécommunication Numérique pour Aérostat)--- No Data ---
6/28/199417:568 h 14 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/20/199521:367 h 29 mRADIBAL (RADIomètre BALlon)--- No Data ---
6/22/199517:4610 h 28 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/26/19956:495 h 50 mPREDYN--- No Data ---
6/27/19957:246 h 39 mTechnological flight of a 402z balloon instrumented--- No Data ---
6/30/19956:281 h 51 mPREDYN--- No Data ---
7/1/19955:537 h 3 mSOPRANO 2--- No Data ---
6/17/199607:585 h 10 mGap Tallard campaign opening flight--- No Data ---
6/18/199617:459 h 25 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/24/199623:081 h 30 mS.R.S.--- No Data ---
6/26/199617:373 h 40 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
7/2/199607:375 h 30 mTECHNO 1,5 GHZ technological flight--- No Data ---
7/3/199606:438 h 20 mCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---
6/12/199706:568 h 1 mGap Tallard campaign opening flight and INMARSAT telemetry system test--- No Data ---
6/17/199720:106 h 24 mMACSIMS (Measurement of Atmospheric Constituents by Selective Ion Mass Spectrometry)--- No Data ---
6/19/199723:588 h 23 mLPMA (Limb Profile Monitor of the Atmosphere) + DOAS--- No Data ---
6/24/199717:492 h 35 mSAOZ Bro instrument--- No Data ---
6/25/199701:152 h 48 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale) + DESCARTES--- No Data ---
6/27/199720:562 h 13 mUWOP / LABS--- No Data ---
7/1/199722:27 utc6 h 13 mMIPAS-B2 (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding - Balloonborne)--- No Data ---
7/1/199708:217 h 19 mDATA TRANSMITION SYSTEM TEST--- No Data ---
6/13/199807:419 h 55 mGap summer 1998 campaign opening flight--- No Data ---
6/18/199807:252 h 27 mQualification flight of the 3ZL balloon--- No Data ---
6/20/199801:202 h 45 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale) + DESCARTES--- No Data ---
6/23/199817:494 h 21 mSAOZ and H2O instruments--- No Data ---
6/25/19986:079 h 4 mCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---
6/11/199905:517 h 35 mGap Tallard campaign opening flight--- No Data ---
6/17/199920:166 h 47 mMACSIMS (Measurement of Atmospheric Constituents by Selective Ion Mass Spectrometry)--- No Data ---
6/23/199906:457 h 54 mVERDI--- No Data ---
6/25/199923:2212 h 8 mLPMA (Limb Profile Monitor of the Atmosphere) + DOAS--- No Data ---
6/29/199900:036 h 58 mSPIRALE (Spectroscopie Infra-Rouge par Absorption de Laser Embarqué)--- No Data ---
6/30/199906:367 h 56 mTechnical test flight of the INMARSAT telemetry system--- No Data ---
7/6/199917:343 h 4 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
7/7/199918:382 h 21 mµRADIBAL (RADIomètre BALlon)--- No Data ---
6/14/200008:00~5 hOuverture technollogical flight--- No Data ---
6/15/200005:36~ 9 hCLAIRE (Gamma-Ray Lens Telescope)In a corn field in Castel-Jaloux (Landes), France.
6/20/200020:454 h 55 mSDLA-LAMA (Spectromètre à Diode Laser Accordable - Laser pour l'Analyse du Méthane Atmosphérique)Near Entraigues-sur-Volane, Ardèche, France.
6/22/200006:425 h 38 mINMARSAT and TM allegee systems technological flight--- No Data ---
6/28/200001:133 h 22 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/30/200017:48~ 2 hSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale) + NILU-CUBE--- No Data ---
6/11/200117:077 h 35 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale)--- No Data ---
6/14/20018:29 local9 h 20 mCLAIRE (Gamma-Ray Lens Telescope)In the Bergerac region, (Dordogne), France
6/20/200106:346 h 50 mSPIRALE (Spectroscopie Infra-Rouge par Absorption de Laser Embarqué)--- No Data ---
6/21/200117:452h 19 mSAOZ (Systeme d'Analyse par Observation Zenithale) + PAPARAZZI--- No Data ---
6/21/20016:066 h 33 mCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---