TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – National Cheng Kung University on Saturday conducted its annual balloon launch into the stratosphere to help students better understand space.
The project had the blessing of the military and the Civil Aviation Administration, per CNA. The balloon carried scientific research instruments to pass data on to the ground team but would fall into the Pacific.
The Institute of Space Systems Engineering at NCKU in Tainan spent one academic year preparing for the project. For the first time, it also invited students from National Tainan First Senior High School, Second Senior High School, and National Nanke International Experiment High School to contribute.
The balloon, launched from NCKU’s Guiren campus, was designed to reach an altitude between 25 and 30 kilometers. The data collected by the instruments focuses on the climate, team members said.
NCKU said it chose late December to launch the balloon because dominant air currents at this time of the year would keep it away from the flight routes of commercial aircraft. The balloon is expected to fly for one to three hours toward the east before falling into the Pacific.