August 11 - BNSF Logistics' (BNSFL) global project centre in Houston has recovered a NASA super pressure balloon from a site close to the city of Arequipa in Peru.
The balloon itself, which had been launched in New Zealand, was relatively easy to get to, but accessing the payload proved more challenging, said BNSFL.
Experts from BNSFL determined that the local terrain and single lane road that dropped about 2,000-3,000 ft (600-900 m) were too precarious for both the equipment and personnel needed for the operation, so a helicopter was brought in. After the team managed to recover all the equipment, everything was transported to Lima and flown back to Houston.
BNSFL represents the Worldwide Project Consortium (WWPC) in the USA.
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| Photo credit: NASA - Bill Rodman |
