Читать книгу The Roswell Report: Case Closed - James McAndrew - Страница 17

Over the years, payloads transported by high altitude polyethylene balloons ranged from simple radio transmitters to anthropomorphic dummies to sophisticated satellite components and NASA interplanetary space probes. Many of these payloads, some of which weighed many tons, were not what someone would typically envision as being associated with a balloon. Examples of payloads flown in New Mexico by Air Force high altitude balloons can be found on pages 52 and 53 at the end of this section.

Research projects of the late 1940’s and 1950’s conducted at Holloman AFB which began with the Project Mogul flights in June 1947, covered a wide spectrum of scientific research. One important experiment in space biology measured the effects of exposure to cosmic ray particles on living tissues.[80] Other projects gathered meteorological data and collected air samples to determine the composition of the atmosphere.[81] The first high altitude photographic reconnaissance project, a forerunner to today’s reconnaissance satellites, Project 119L, also used high altitude balloons launched at Holloman AFB.[82]

As early as May 1948, polyethylene balloons coated or laminated with aluminum were flown from Holloman AFB and the surrounding area.[83] Beginning in August 1955, large numbers of these balloons were flown as targets in the development of radar guided air to air missiles.[84] Various accounts of the “Roswell Incident” often described thin, metal-like materials that when wadded into a ball, returned to their original shape. These accounts are consistent with the properties of polyethylene balloons laminated with aluminum. These balloons were typically launched from points west of the White Sands Proving Ground, floated over the range as targets, and descended in the areas northeast of White Sands Proving Ground where the “strange” materials were allegedly found.

In 1958 the first manned stratospheric balloon flights were made from Holloman AFB (see page 102). In 1960, balloon tests of components of the first U. S. reconnaissance satellite were also flown at Holloman AFB. In the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s high altitude balloons were used in support of Air Force, and other U.S. Government and university sponsored research projects. Instrument testing of atmospheric entry vehicles for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space probes is one prominent example.

Fig. 49. Holloman Balloon Branch personnel prepare a polyethylene balloon laminated with aluminum to serve as a target for radar guided missiles over White Sands Proving Ground, N.M. (U.S. Air Force photo)

High Altitude Balloons and America’s First Satellite

An illustration of the important contributions of the Holloman AFB Balloon Branch, and the necessity for a rapid recovery of a high altitude balloon payload, were evaluations of components of the first U.S. satellite-based reconnaissance system, code named Corona.

The Soviet Union had already beaten the U.S. into space with the launch and orbit of Sputnik I on October 4, 1957. The next achievement in the quest for space superiority were the physical recovery of a payload that had been in orbit.[85] The Discoverer satellite, the sensor used in the Corona program, was to be propelled into orbit and then eject a capsule containing an American flag to enable the U.S. to claim this honor.[86]

The Discoverer program had been plagued by failure with 10 unsuccessful missions in 1959 and 1960. With the eyes of the nation watching, and the Soviets testing a similar system, more failures could not be tolerated. To test the faulty components of the Discoverer, U.S. Air Force high altitude balloons at Holloman AFB were determined to be the most expedient method of conducting the evaluations.

In April 1960, Discoverer XI, on the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., was put into a hold pending results of the balloon tests.[87] The first test at Holloman AFB on April 5th was unsatisfactory due to a parachute failure.[88] On April 8th, with pressure mounting, the Balloon Branch launched another balloon with the Discoverer capsule. This test, in which the capsule was dropped over White Sands Missile Range and recovered immediately, was a total success.[89] The results were relayed by telephone from the Balloon Control Center at Holloman AFB to the launch pad at Vandenberg AFB where the countdown resumed.[90] Despite the successful balloon drop, Discoverer XI and Discoverer XII were failures.[91] Therefore, balloon testing continued throughout the summer of 1960.

Fig. 50. (Left). A Holloman Balloon Branch launch crew prepares a nosecone of the Discoverer satellite for a high altitude balloon flight at Holloman AFB, N.M. in April 1960. (U.S. Air Force photo) Fig. 51. (Right). A U.S. Navy helicopter aboard the USS Haiti Victory is shown here with the capsule from the Discoverer XIII satellite. It was recovered from the Pacific Ocean 330 miles northwest of Hawaii on August 11, 1960. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Finally, on August 11, 1960, Discoverer XIII successfully ejected a capsule and, amid much fanfare, the first recovery of a manmade object that had orbited the earth was accomplished.[92] This first successful mission of an American satellite, made possible in part by Holloman AFB high altitude balloons, enabled the U.S. to beat the Soviets and claim the honor of the first space recovery by only nine days.[93]

The Surveyor (Moon), Voyager-Mars (Mars), Viking (Mars), Pioneer (Venus), and Galileo (Jupiter) spacecraft were tested by Air Force high altitude balloons before they were launched into space.

Viking and Voyager-Mars Space Probes. Examples of unusual payloads, not likely to be associated with balloons, were qualification trials of NASA’s Voyager-Mars and Viking space probes. Both of these spacecraft looked remarkably similar to the classic dome-shaped “flying saucer.”

In 1966–67 and 1972, eight of the UFO lookalikes were launched by the Balloon Branch from the former Roswell Army Air Field (now Roswell Industrial Air Center), N.M.[94] The spacecraft were transported by Air Force balloons to altitudes above 100,000 feet and released for a period of self-propelled, supersonic, free-flight prior to landing on the White Sands Missile Range.[95] While the origins of the “Roswell” scenarios cannot be specifically traced to these vehicles, their flying saucer-like appearance, and the fact that they were launched exclusively from the original “Roswell Incident” location, leaves an impression that perhaps these odd balloon payloads may have played some role in the unclear and distorted stories of at least some of the “Roswell” witnesses.

Fig. 52. A NASA Viking space probe is rolled out of its assembly building at Martin Marietta Corporation in Denver, Colo. (NASA)

Fig. 53. (Above Left) The aeroshell of a NASA Voyager-Mars space probe just prior to launch at Walker AFB, N.M. (formerly Roswell AAF). (U.S. Air Force photo) Fig. 54. (Above Right) This NASA Viking flying saucer-like space probe was test flown by U. S. Air Force high altitude balloons in 1972 at the former Roswell Army Air Field. (NASA) Fig. 55. (Left) Following a supersonic test flight in 1972, a Viking space probe awaits recovery at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (NASA)

Tethered Balloons. The Holloman Balloon Branch, in addition to high altitude research activities, also conducted low altitude tethered balloon flights. It appears that descriptions of these balloons may have become part of the “Roswell Incident.”

Most standard shaped tethered balloons are readily identified when near the ground or when the tether is visible. Other experimental tethered balloons are not so easily identified. During the 1960s, Balloon Branch personnel flew experimentally shaped tethered balloons from deep canyons of central New Mexico. To a distant observer, from a vantage point above the canyon rim, where the tether and ground anchors are not visible, an experimental tethered balloon might lead some persons to speculate as to the oddly shaped balloon’s origin and purpose. One design of a low altitude tethered balloon may have inspired at least one account of an “alien” craft. In The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell, the authors published a drawing of a crashed alien spaceship allegedly based on a drawing given to them by an anonymous witness.[96] When this drawing is compared to a photograph of an experimental tethered balloon flown at Holloman AFB in March 1965, the similarities are undeniable.[97] The tethered balloon and the NASA space probes are just two examples of the uncommon technologies that were flown in New Mexico by the Holloman Balloon Branch.

Fig. 56. (Left) A drawing from a popular UFO book, The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell, depicts an alien spacecraft allegedly drawn by an anonymous witness. (The Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell) Fig. 57. (Right) A tethered “Vee” balloon shown here at Holloman AFB, N.M. in March 1965. This experimental balloon, is strikingly similar to the “alien” craft. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Today, the Air Force maintains a reduced but still highly capable high altitude balloon program at Holloman AFB. The Space and Missile Command, Test and Evaluation Unit (SMC/TE, OL-AC) represents the sole Department of Defense high altitude research balloon capability. The ability of a U.S. Air Force high altitude balloon to lift a scientific payload to more than 100,000 feet, above 99 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere, for days at a time, presents a profoundly useful scientific tool at a fraction of the cost of a space research platform. Recent tests that utilized Holloman balloons included atmospheric sampling and gravity measurement experiments, high altitude astronomic studies, weapons systems evaluations, and gamma ray detection experiments. While most tests continue to be launched from the permanent balloon launch facility at Holloman AFB, U.S. Air Force balloon crews have recently launched balloons from numerous field locations in the U.S. (including two sites in Roswell), as well as Alaska, Panama, and Antarctica.

Fig. 58. Present members of the Holloman Balloon Branch in front of the Balloon Operations Center, Building 850, at Holloman AFB, N.M., (from left) TSgt. Roger J. Welch, Mr. Joseph Fumerola, Mr. Alvin W. Hodges, Mr. Joseph Longshore, MSgt. Ray A. Pitts, Sr., Amn. John Witkop, and Mr. Harvey L. Harris. (U.S. Air Force photo)