I'm perplexed! Why can't baloons be used for launching satalites?

Question

Hi! Why is it that high altitude baloons can't be used to launch satalites into low orbit? I mean, if baloons can go 30 miles into the atmosphere, then why can't they leave the atmosphere and launch a satalite at say, 210 miles? Basicly my question is what stops a baloon from going into orbit?

Silly me? Is it because baloons are lighter than air, and they run out of air to be lighter than? Is that right?

Answer 1

Atmospheric pressure. The atmospheric pressure allows a balloon to rise only so many feet into the air, even
if a large storm (tornado or hurricane) is present. Even an
airplane or jet would not be able to leave earths atmosphere,
due to atmospheric pressure. This pressure also causes
friction heat when trying to pass through it.
That's why we have to launch satellites, orbs, and spacecraft
into orbit, and build them to endue extremely hot temperatures. (satellites orb between aprox. 200 to 300 miles above earth.)

Answer 2

A balloon floats in air much like a boat floats in water, the mass of the displaced fluid equals the mass of the balloon. At ground level, the balloon displaces more than it weighs so it is positively buoyant and rises. IT rises until one of two things happens, it reaches neutral buoyancy or it bursts from the expansion of the gas in the balloon, since air pressure lowers as altitude increases. The weather service has used balloons as a launch platform, but not for reaching orbit, just for much higher into the upper atmosphere. The problem with getting into orbit, is an altitude of 30 miles is only 20% of the way, and the engines and fuel you will need to reach orbit far outweigh the advantage of being up 30 miles. You can't make a balloon big enough to take the weight of fuel you will need to get the job done. If it could work and be cost-effective, don't you think they would do it that way? Just so you know, there is a part of the Star Wars defense which is launched from a high flying aircraft. It is a kinetic weapon with a rocket booster which is designed to shoot down low orbit spy satellites. These devices do not go into orbit, but are simple ballistic devices. They use a mobile platform of the aircraft because the aircraft can fly below the satellite at the closest point of approach in line with the path of the satellite. They can go to the satellite rather than wait for the satellite to pass over a fixed launch point.

Answer 3

You correctly answer half of your question. The balloon being lighter than air, is pushed up by the air until there is not enough air to push further--but it is still in the atmosphere. However, for something to orbit the earth it has to fall back to the earth with enough forward velocity to miss the ground by the time it falls back down. This is what all satellites do. An object released from a floating balloon would not be given enough velocity to accomplish the fall around the planet.
To get a better sense of this imagine the following scenario. You are standing at the top of a hill. You have a bucket of golf balls. You toss one away from you. It goes only so far and eventually arcs into the side of the hill and rolls the rest of the way down. You throw another one with a bit more energy, it simply goes out a little further before hitting the side of the hill. Now, you throw another one with sufficient energy to arc out and miss the slope of the side of the hill completely. This is all satellites do, they are going fast enough in a "forward" direction to arc out and miss the earth completely. Now, take the last golf ball and start running down the hill and simply release the ball by only opening your hand and not throwing it. You won't [likely] be able to run fast enough to give enough "forward" velocity to the golf ball for it to miss the side of the hill.
Edit after reading another answer: the guy that jumped was Joe Kittenger and there are various good websites about it with scary pictures.

Answer 4

Good for you. You asked a worthy question and then answered it with aplomb.

Experiments were done with small rockets in the late 1950's and found that by the time the rocket reached a stable velocity to re-aim toward space (instead of the ground), it had fallen too far back toward earth to pay off. The acceleration characteristics were such that it couldn't drag the balloon along with it at all without being disoriented.

And, yep, the balloon starts running out of air to get any further aloft. And it takes about 15 cubic feet of Helium to lift a pound of payload. Most missions weigh "TONS" and "TONS".

You might enjoy researching "Project Man High". The guy took a leap, a sky-dive from 102,000 feet (with oxygen and parachute).

Answer 5

No, no, it is not only the altitude for ballons, the satellite needs to be injected into an orbit at high velocity - for example 17,500 mph at low orbit like the ISS.

How the heck would you do that from a balloon.

Obviously you people have no idea about orbital science and gravity.

The only way a satellite stays in orbit is that its high velocity balances the gravitational pull. You can't just take a satellite up and place it there.

People, you need to do some hard reading.

Answer 6

There are some AWFUL answers here, especially the one about the baloon expanding and bursting. What that answerer said about people "thinking things through" is hysterically ironic, considering how confused her answer is. Dead wrong.

Indeed, balloons are lighter than air, and are limited in the altitude to which they can rise by the density of the air. The maximum height to which a balloon can ascend is 40-50 miles.

The first space suits were tested by people wearing them up in sounding balloons to those heights. There was a series of dramatic experiments in the late 1950s in which people rode to heights above 100,000 feet and jumped out to prove the concept of a durable environment suit.

On August 16, 1960, a man named Joseph Kittinger jumped 102,000 feet. You can look him up on the internet.

In the 1940s and 50s, there were experiments with launching rockets into space from high altitude balloons. It was learned that it would require a balloon or airship of impractical size to lift a rocket with any real payload capacity.

There have been rockets launched outside the atmosphere from under the wing of a high flying B-52, as well. Look up "X-15" on the internet.

But the general answer is, balloons cannot rise above about one third of the way to the edge of the atmosphere. So it is not practical to use them to launch space vehicles.

And, as always, people need to get their facts straight before posting answers on Y!A. Please.

Answer 7

Even if we consider ideal baloon that does not explode at outer atmosphere. The problem is that it cannot even leave the inner atmosphere.

You might have an idea that to leave the surface of the earth anything needs to exceed "Escape velocity" (which is very huge) to make a successful launch from the earth.

So even considering the hypothesis that we are using ideal baloon even it can't be used for launching a satelite.

Answer 8

Correct, they can only fly to the outer reaches of the atmosphere. However scientists have looked into the possibility of using a balloon system to get a small rocket closer to space before launch. Most of a rockets energy is spent just getting out of the atmosphere.

Answer 9

Space is this thing called a VACUUM, and when the balloon is out of the earth's atmosphere, the presure is un-equal and therfore, the balloon won't float.

Also, exiting the atmosphere would create more firction than a weather balloon could withstand


Sorry, this seems obvous to me. And someitmes I get sarcastic.

Answer 10

Both balloons and jets can be used to get the rocket off the ground without using so much expensive rocket fuel. And both have been used. Jets have the advantage that they give altitude plus a 1,000 mph head start.

30 miles is about the limit for balloons and jets