Balloon Vehicle

Balloon: The weather balloon is filled with helium to give it lift. It carries the balloon aloft to the flight altitude where it ultimately bursts, and drops the payload below it.

Leader line: The leader line ties off the balloon, and connects the entire system to the payload stack.

Anchor line guides: The anchor line guides are used before launch to raise the balloon stack into a vertical position. When launch occurs, the guide rings feed the anchor lines out so they do not become entangled with the rest of the balloon system.

Parachute: After the balloon bursts at altitude, the payload stack returns to Earth under a parachute recovery system.

Shroud ring: The shroud lines of the parachute are attached to a rigid ring to keep them untangled during the balloon ascent. The shroud ring also serves as the primary coupling between the payload capsules and the recovery system.

Capsule Harness/Suspension: The stack of payload capsules are daisy-chained together in a vertical configuration using a simple harness system to keep them connected.

Payload capsules: The HARBOR system can carry several payload capsules aloft, so long as it stays within the regulated weight limit. Capsules are typically formed of polystyrene panels, and covered in brightly colored ripstop nylon; instrumentation is protected inside.

Command capsule: The HARBOR command capsule is similar to a standard payload capsule, but carries inside the Command And Telemetry System (CATS) that broadcasts the balloons GPS location.

Primary antenna: The primary antenna hangs below the command capsule, with the 4 suspension wires acting as a ground plane.