Developments of the Sliding Launcher and Related Facilities for the New Japanese Balloon Base

Since 1971, more than 400 balloons have been launched from the Japanese balloon launch site, the Sanriku Balloon Center (SBC). In these 36 years, balloon technologies have been developed continuously and plenty of scientific achievements have been derived. Recently, however, we have been faced difficulties to further develop Japanese balloon activities. To solve this issue, we decided to move the balloon base from the SBC to the Multipurpose Aviation Park (MAP) in Taiki, Hokkaido. The MAP has an existing huge hanger and a paved launch pad, which we plan to utilize for balloon operations. From July 2007 to March 2008, new balloon facilities, including a new operation building and new launch equipments, have being constructed. They will enable us to launch larger balloons more safely and to perform balloon operations more effectively than ever before. The first balloon from the MAP is planned to be launched in May 2008.