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The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert

USAF / The Black Vault · 1995 · 882 pages · text by OCR

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published by Headquarters United States Air Force in 1995. The Black Vault distributes this copy. It reproduces the report by Col. Richard L. Weaver and the synopsis by 1st Lt. James McAndrew, both written after a General Accounting Office inquiry requested by Representative Steven Schiff. The Air Force search found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concluded that the Roswell debris most likely came from NYU Flight No. 4, a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 193 …overhead and followed the balloons out to sea. I have no idea about the results that…
  • p. 200 …the regular 334 that we had at sea level. From that they could deduce the temperature…
  • p. 243 …actually located on the jurisdictional lines between Sea Girt and Springlake, New Jersey. It was an…
  • p. 244 …The Sea Girt Inn? A: Exactly. That's where John had his office, and I was…
  • p. 320 …alone is about 24,000 miles at sea level, and about 4500 miles at 45,000…
  • p. 325 …twenty-five (25) feet at their largest sea-level diameter. The sonic unit was a combination…
  • p. 378 …per hour when one-fifth inflated at sea level). One other type of balloon which has…
  • p. 402 …Let us, then, compare the rate of leakage at any given altitude with leakage at sea…
  • p. 404 …The leakage at any altitude may be expressed as a function of leakage at sea level…
  • p. 405 Comparing rate of leakage at 40,000 feet with leakage at sea level: $$ \frac {L _ {4…
  • p. 407 …If a 20-foot diameter balloon $ \frac{1}{1 0} $ full were tested at sea level…
  • p. 408 …At sea level this is equivalent to 5.32 gm/hr. for a 20-foot diameter…
  • p. 414 …Using the rules of subsonic aerodynamics, Picard suggests that air at sea level escaping at 1333…
  • p. 415 …air at sea level (lb./ft. $ ^{3} $ ) 14.7 = pressure of air at sea level (psi…
  • p. 432 …to about 20 millibars and increased to sea-level pressure at different temperatures. The most comprehensive…
  • p. 563 …The height above mean sea level as determined from pressure measurements used in this work with…
  • p. 644 …point at which the radiosonde reaches the sea surface. ## 2. Earlier attempts There have been numerous…
  • p. 645 …The balloons floated between the surface and 30,000 ft above sea level; those which reached…
  • p. 704 …Met Gifford who has 90' sea rescue boat this project is planning to use. Stayed at…
  • p. 719 …Worzel working on gravity at sea. Saw Geo Woollard and the Ryders. Woollard after Guggenheim fellowship…
  • p. 779 …the launching site is markedly different from sea level, a shift in this curve is needed…
  • p. 817 …balloon at all times with respect to sea level. On this curve also it is customary…
  • p. 825 …The height above mean sea level as determined from pressure measurements used in this work with…
period of performance to 15 March 1950. A final report on development and testing of constant altitude balloon systems was to be submitted to the Air Force. Modification #9 revised the delivery address for reports.

Modification #10 of 1 May 1950, increased contract funds to continue field service and meteorological analysis work to 15 June 1950.

Modification #11 subsequently extended the period of performance to the termination date of 31 December 1950 and increased funds accordingly.

## B. Constant Altitude Balloon Systems

Development of a system to maintain balloons at constant altitudes for long periods of time was completed on 15 March 1949. This development has been completely reported in "Technical Report 93.02"(1) by this Research Division under "Section 1, General".

Essentially the system as developed at New York University consists of a constant volume balloon of thin polyethylene which, when filled with hydrogen or helium, furnishes the lift for the system. (Because of the increased safety to personnel and equipment, use of helium is to be recommended). The balloon is inflated with enough gas to balance the weight of the suspended equipment, plus a certain amount of "free lift" which will cause the system to ascend. When the balloon nears floating altitude and becomes full, the gas comprising the "free lift" will be expelled through an open appendix at the bottom of the balloon. The system is then at equilibrium at an altitude fixed by the balloon volume. The ratio of molecular weights of the lifting gas and air, density of the surrounding air, and the total balloon load are as follows:

$$
V _ {b} \left(1 - \frac {M g}{M _ {a}}\right) d _ {a} = L
$$

This state of equilibrium is broken, however, by changes in any of the above variables. Basically, losses of lift due to leakage and diffusion of gas, and changes of temperature of the lifting gas cause a change from equilibrium conditions.

Any variations causing an increase in altitude will result merely in a valving of gas from the fixed volume balloon and a slight increase in altitude. Changes in the reverse direction, however,

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Report, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 882 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.