Atmospheric sounding apparatus

An atmospheric sounding apparatus comprising:

• a sounding unit;
• a balloon for carrying said sounding unit aloft so that said sounding unit provides sounding during the ascent of the balloon;
• a source of lighter-than-air gas;
• means for filling said balloon with lighter-than-air gas from said source;
• means for providing release of said balloon after filling thereof so as to permit the balloon to rise;
• and sealing means for providing sealing off of the balloon after filling thereof;
• said sealing means comprising a stopper member disposed within said balloon and an elongate connector attached to said stopper member and to a weight such that the connector is tensioned by said weight when said balloon is released to cause said stopper member to be sealingly positioned within the neck of balloon, thereby to seal off the opening in the balloon and thus seal the lighter-than-air gas within the balloon.

An air-launched unit for providing meteorological data to a remote monitoring station, said unit comprising:

• a protective deployment housing;
• a parachute system, housed within said housing and deployable from the housing, for, when deployed, controlling the descent of the unit after release thereof from an aircraft;
• a balloon housed within said housing and releasable therefrom;
• sensor and transmitter means, connected to said balloon and releasable from said housing therewith, for sensing at least one parameter in the environment of the balloon and for transmitting a signal in accordance therewith;
• a lighter-than-air gas storage tank housed within said housing from which said balloon is filled with a lighter-than-air gas during the descent of said unit;
• sensing means for sensing the approach of the unit to the Earth and for producing an output signal when a predetermined approach condition is sensed;
• control means, responsive to said sensing means for, responsive to said output signal from said sensing means, controlling releasing of said balloon and the sensor and transmitter means connected thereto from the remaining components of the unit so that the sensor and transmitter means is able to transmit a said signal during the ascent of said balloon.