HOUSTON -- Crews from Marshall Space Flight Center recovered the Perseids Live! balloon and payload intact about 20 miles from the launch point early this morning.
NASA astronomer John Horack said the craft landed in the front yard of a house and was recovered about 5:30 a.m. ET.
The mission to collect physical samples and video imagery of the Perseids meteor shower was cut short after the helium balloon carrying the scientific instruments ruptured.
The balloon lifted off this morning at about 3:12 a.m. ET from the Atmospheric Research Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It landed about 70 minutes later after reaching 62,000 feet. The balloon was supposed to rise to about 105,000 feet.
"The payloads in good shape," Horack said. "We could turn it around and launch next week if we needed to."
The balloon's next mission will be a similar attempt during the Leonid meteor shower in November.
Acrylic samples, akin to a high-tech version of flypaper, will be analyzed with an electron microscope to determine if any meteoroid debris was captured, Horack said.
"Since we didnt get too high, our hopes arent very high that we have any samples," he said.
With a budget of less than $4,000, the Perseids Live! program is probably one of the most economical aspects of the U.S. space effort.
Horack said most any well-equipped physics or amateur radio club could probably duplicate the procedure.
During the flight, Horack provided audio commentary via the World Wide Web and answered questions sent by e-mail from around the United States and Europe.
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