Social media used to warn Wanaka community Allegations of children being followed home and a paedophile moving into Central Otago have sparked alarm in the Wanaka community over the past month. PAGE 2
Missing tramper named The search for an American university student missing in Mount Aspiring National Park has been put on hold until later in the week. PAGE 3 THUR 30.04.15 - WED 06.05.15
WANAKA’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
inside:
New team for Housing Trust PAGE 2
Festival of favourites PAGE 5 National Transport and Toy Museum owner Jason Rhodes, and Bevan Duke, lead the ANZAC parade. See story page 3. PHOTO:PIP O’REGAN
NASA confirms 2016 mission in Wanaka Jessica Maddock Wanaka Sun
Trail-ride boost for local youth PAGE 11
Hamish off to Paralympics PAGE 11
NASA says it is aiming to launch another balloon from Wanaka in April next year. Its balloon programme chief, Debbie Fairbrother, said the inaugural balloon test flight from Wanaka Airport on March 27 has been a success, despite the organisation being forced to end the flight on Tuesday afternoon. The super pressure balloon was floating over central Australia when its Texas-based controllers detected a leak. It was brought down in a remote area near the border between Queensland
and New South Wales, just east of Australia’s Sturt National Park. Ms Fairbrother said NASA staff would travel to Australia to inspect the balloon “carcass,” investigate the cause of the leak and recover the balloon and its 2268kg payload of tracking and telemetry systems, which were used to monitor its position and health. The balloon had been airborne for 32 days and had nearly circumnavigated the globe. The mission had several goals, including a successful launch from this latitude, of about 45 degrees south, which was achieved on just the second attempt.
Another was to remain airborne for a record period of time at a constant altitude of about 33km. NASA said its balloons were designed to fly for 100 days and the record to date was 54 days, although the Wanaka-based mission would be considered a success if the balloon remained airborne for more than 10 days. “This balloon accomplished what no other heavy-lift balloon has done, by maintaining a constant float altitude for a long duration in the harsh conditions of the earth’s stratosphere,” Ms Fairbrother said. “While we hoped for more days at float, we exceeded our pre-established minimum success criteria of 10 days
by threefold, in the balloon’s most demanding test yet.” NASA’s decision to end the balloon flight was made quickly, for safety reasons. Just two days earlier, it released a statement saying the balloon was “healthy and performing as designed.” Wanaka Airport operations manager, Ralph Fegan, said he understood the balloon which is expected to be launched from the facility next year would not be another test run, but would carry scientific research equipment. NASA’s super pressure balloons are used to carry universities’ equipment to near space. They can carry up to around 3630kg.