The French balloon program — Advancements in CNES balloon research and development Original Research Article

The French Space Agency (CNES) has been supporting scientific ballooning since its establishment in 1962. Balloon flights have being performing at high success rates from launch sites in France, Spain and Sweden. In parallel, the comprehensive Research and Development program (R&D) has continued with advances being made in these related disciplines: materials, structure analysis, balloon manufacture, flight performances, telemetry equipment, recovery system, long duration flights, etc This paper presents three main areas of activities in the French balloon development program: