Light weight radar reflector

A lightweight radar reflector employed beneath a weather balloon to aid in radar tracking of a sonde comprising:

• an array of eight trihedral corner reflectors;
• a lanyard swivel suspension system permitting said array to swivel freely;
• and wherein said
• array of eight trihedral corner reflectors comprises:
• a 1st precut panel of reflective material having a high stiffness to weight ratio in the shape of a square and having four identical slots extending from the midpoint of each edge toward the center of said panel about one-fifth the distance thereof;
• a 2nd precut panel of said material of the same size and including a slot which extends from the center of said 2nd panel for a distance of about four-fifths thereof toward the midpoint of the edges of said 2nd panel along the center line, and further including a crease line along the orthogonal center line of said 2nd panel for enabling folding of said 2nd panel to an angle of about ninety degrees;
• a 3rd precut panel identical to said 2nd panel, wherein said 2nd and 3rd panels are foldably affixed in a symmetrical fashion to said 1st panel by engagement of said slots;
• a plurality of cross shaped clips for fastening said precut panels at the six intersection points inherent in said array;
• a plurality of eyeletted lanyard passages placed so that said array will be oriented to aim said corner reflectors into the eight quadrants of a three-dimensional coordinate system aligned vertically when fastened to a lanyard assembly;
• and
• at least three spin vanes attached to said array in a symmetrical fashion to produce a spin torque when said array ascends.