SIOUX FALLS, S.D., (August 25, 2020) — Raven Industries (NASDAQ:RAVN) announced that Raven Aerostar has been awarded $2.95M since March in support of the NASA Balloon Program. The awards – spanning multiple contracts and purchase orders – fulfilled the need for near-space access on a variety of NASA missions over the summer.
Raven Aerostar has provided “Big 60” Balloons (60.2 Mcf), payload recovery parachutes, and campaign support by our subject matter experts. The balloon platforms offered NASA the ability to conduct scientific research and test new technology.
“Raven Aerostar is proud of our long-standing partnership and capability to offer stratospheric solutions for NASA to meet worldwide objectives of stratospheric research and scientific mission,” said AJ Ash, Raven Aerostar Engineering Manager.
One of the most recent flights – conducted in early July – was coordinated in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The successful campaign was designed to develop instruments for detecting seismic activity on Venus from balloons. Other recent payload experiments studied cosmic rays, atmospheric sciences, the magnetosphere, and more. The partnership is ongoing, and Raven Aerostar looks forward to future campaigns.