Moored balloon - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A moored balloon is an inflated fabric structure, often shaped like an airship

Airship

An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...

and usually filled with helium

Helium

Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...

, that is restrained by a cable attached to the ground or a vehicle. Moored balloons differ from airships and free balloons

Balloon (aircraft)

A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....

in that it is not free-flying.

Moored balloons are sometimes called aerostats. However, the term
aerostat

Aerostat

An aerostat is a craft that remains aloft primarily through the use of buoyant lighter than air gases, which impart lift to a vehicle with nearly the same overall density as air. Aerostats include free balloons, airships, and moored balloons...

can also be used to refer to all lighter-than-air aircraft. In this broader sense, moored balloons are a type of aerostat.

Moored balloons come in three forms:

1) Traditional sausage-shaped (i.e., blimp-shaped) balloons with fins to stabilise them, but relying on helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...

alone for lift;
2) Simple round balloons relying on helium alone, but without stabilisation. These are sometimes are used to carry passengers or support advertisement, like the aerophile balloons;
3) Hybrid moored balloon
Hybrid moored balloon
A hybrid moored balloon is a system that remains aloft using both buoyant lighter than air gases and aerodynamic lift.An example of a hybrid moored balloon is the Helikite.-See also:*Kytoon, a similar device*Aerostat*Kite*Airship*Balloon...

s are systems that use both buoyancy
Buoyancy
In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...

and aerodynamic lift.

Applications

Barrage balloon

A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...

s of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

were examples of moored balloons. Today, moored balloons are used for lifting, camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

s, radio antennas, electro-optical sensors, radio-relay equipment and advertising banners - often for long durations. Moored balloons are also used for position marking and bird control work.

During the 1990 Invasion of Kuwait

Invasion of Kuwait

The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...

, the first indication of the Iraqi ground advance was from a radar

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

-equipped moored balloon that detected Iraqi armor and air assets moving south. Surveillance moored balloons were used in the 2004 American occupation of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

. They utilized a high-tech optics

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...

system to detect and observe enemies from miles away. They have been used to accompany foot patrols in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

.

The United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

uses moored balloons to carry equipment to places where conventional aircraft cannot go, such as above an erupting volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

. Moored balloons are ideal as they can easily remain more or less in one place; are less likely to be damaged by volcanic ash and are less expensive to operate than a helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

.

The Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...

has contracted with Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....

to operate a series of radar

Radar

-equipped moored balloons to detect low-flying aircraft attempting to enter the United States. A total of twelve moored balloons, called Tethered Aerostat Radar System

Tethered Aerostat Radar System

The Tethered Aerostat Radar System is an American low-level surveillance system that uses aerostats as radar platforms. Another system of this kind is the EL/M-2083.- System :...

, are positioned approximately 350 miles apart, from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

to Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

, providing unbroken radar coverage along the entire southern border of the US.

Worldwide Aeros Corp. manufactures a family of moored balloon systems for a variety of uses.

Aerophile SA is one of the world leaders along with Lindstrand Technologies in large tethered gas balloons for passengers.

Moored balloons can be used as temporary transmitters, instead of a radio mast, either by using the mooring rope which holds the balloon as the antenna, or by carrying antennas on the balloon fed by a radio frequency cable contained inside the mooring rope. The advantage of moored balloons is that great antenna heights are easily realizable.

Moored balloons are sometimes used for advertisement, either by lifting up advertisement signs, or by using a balloon with advertisements on it. Often both methods are combined. It is not uncommon to use specially designed balloons. By suspending a light source within the envelope, the balloon can be made to glow at night, drawing attention to its message. Big tethered gas balloons can also lift up 30 passengers to 1,000 feet.

Manufacturers

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