Measuring Relative Wind Speeds in Stratospheric Balloons with Cup Anemometers: The TASEC-Lab Mission

Sensors (Basel). 2022 Jul 26;22(15):5575. doi: 10.3390/s22155575.

Abstract

This paper shows wind speed measurements from the TASEC-Lab experiment in a stratospheric balloon mission. The mission was launched in July 2021 from León (Spain) aerodrome. Measurements of horizontal wind speed in relation to the balloon gondola were successfully carried out with a cup anemometer. According to the available literature, this is the first time a cup anemometer has been used in a stratospheric balloon mission. The results indicate the need to consider the horizontal wind speed from the balloon ascent phase for thermal calculations of the mission.

Keywords: cup anemometer; high-altitude calibration; stratospheric balloon; wind speed.