What do these phrases mean in this article? (A dictionary and thesaurus will help!)

• one quarter of a kilometre in diameter
• a payload
• we had traversed the desert
• arranged permission
• visible all the way into Alice
• the incredibly thin, gossamer-like membrane
• gondola
• an explosive charge
• an enormously long lead time

1. How big was the balloon?
2. What caused the earlier balloon to get a leak in its skin?
3. Draw how the balloon and parachutes are arranged, with all the other parts that are attached. Explain what each part does.
4. What does Karl believe is the origin of the word "payload"?
5. What advantages do balloons have over satellites?
6. What do the three separate teams do?
7. How much does each balloon cost?

Here are some extracts from the article. Complete the sentences by filling in the spaces.

Balloons actually have a _______ advantages over satellites. First, they are a lot _______ than a satellite. A satellite can cost up to $100 million, and the launch can _______ another $100 million. Second, a satellite has an _______ long lead time. This can sometimes mean _______ the latest, and more sensitive, _______ instruments will just sit uselessly _______ the ground, while the satellite orbits overhead _______ 10-year-old instruments on it. But a _______ can design and build a better _______, and within a few months, launch it on a balloon. Third, sometimes a _______ is in the wrong orbit to look at something in the sky, and in most _______, you simply can't change the orbit. But _______ can take a balloon to several launch _______ around the world, and pop it up, in _______ a month-or-so.

This article has a number of sections. Each section has a main point. Write down the main point of the sections named here.

Where the balloon launch occurred

How the balloons and the telescopes are arranged

How the word "payload" was made

The payload of the balloons

Advantages that balloons have over satellites

How the balloons are launched

Think of all the arguments for and against this statement. (To help you, use this article and others that you can find.)

"It is pointless going to all this effort for astronomical research."

Use this article, the Internet and libraries to find information on one of these topics:

1. Why the Australian desert makes a good launching place for balloons.
2. How weather balloons are used to predict the weather: the equipment they carry, the measurements they take, and how these measurements are used.
3. The telescopes that are taken up by these balloons: what they look like, how they are arranged, and what they have told us.
4. What we have learnt about the universe using the infra-red, gamma rays and x-rays.

Use the library or the Internet to collect information about the topic. Find at least four different articles or chapters.

Write down about three ideas from each article you find.

You now have about a dozen ideas on this topic. Choose which idea is the most important, which is second-most important, and so on.

Write them in order, from most important to least important.

Write a paragraph to explain each idea.

Write down where you found the information you used. This is your "bibliography".

Be prepared to deliver your report on the date it is due!

• Meanings
• Questions
• Cloze Activity
• Summary
• Debate
• Research
• Instructions to Students
• Teachers' Guide