Scientists delay Saskatoon launch of 100 ft. weather balloon

Scientists had to delay the launch of a 100-foot (30 metre) weather balloon into the Saskatchewan sky on Tuesday but its take-off has been rescheduled for Thursday.

The balloon, which is hunting for sub-atomic particles, will reach a maximum height of 35 kilometres, three times the altitude of an average jetliner.

The launch was supposed to take place on Tuesday evening but it was delayed by technical difficulties.

A team made of up researchers from the Universities of Calgary, Washington and Alberta are gathered in Saskatoon to launch the second of three weather balloons at Corman Air Park just outside of Saskatoon. They'll be assisted by their industrial partner Scientific Instrument Limited (SIL) in Saskatoon.

Lead researcher Chris Cully said his team is hoping to look at sub-atomic particles, electrons, trapped in the Earth's magnetic atmosphere through x-rays and radio waves.

"We're trying to understand better what it is that makes them rain out of their trapped environment in outer space, what makes them rain down into our atmosphere," Cully told CBC Radio's The Afternoon Edition.

Cully's theory is these electrons are knocked out of the Earth's magnetic field by radio waves created by the earth. Once these electrons start raining down to the ground they can hit satellites, damaging them.

"The sub-atomic particles, they have enough energy that when they hit the satellite they can damage the electronics. For starters they can make the computers on board execute commands they weren't supposed to," Cully said.

Why Saskatoon?

Cully said launching from just outside of Saskatoon is ideal because the city isn't too far north.

"There's a very specific band where these electrons rain out into and Saskatoon sits towards the southern end of that band," Cully said.  

If the balloon is launched successfully on Thursday, it should be visible to the naked eye looking west of Saskatoon.