An Analysis of Burst Altitude for Weather Balloons

The ability to accurately estimate balloon burst altitude is important when modeling balloon flight predictions in preparation for a high altitude balloon launch. Variables considered for the study of burst altitude include the time of day of the flight, the manufacturer of the balloon, and the ascent rate of the balloon during the last ten minutes before burst. Additionally, the reliability of the commonly used APRS tracking system was studied. To study these variables, we ran statistical tests on data collected by APRS.fi for more than seventy balloon flights carried out by researchers across America