Launch Crew

It takes a team to launch a balloon, so picking your launch and recovery team is important!

At minimum, you need three people to launch the balloon:

It is helpful to have a fourth to read off the handy Balloon Launch Checklist that Aether Industries includes with their Balloon Inflation Tube & Scale.

Aside from the four launch people (Helium person, Lift Person, Balloon Person, and Checklist Person), having another person around to take photos and generally be helpful is nice, but not required.

You only need two people to recover the balloon (because you should never go alone — safety first!), so if some launch crew members need to leave before recovery, that's okay. But recovery is the most exciting part!

Since it is usually a long drive out to the launch and recovery site, we try to make a fun day of it, with our post-launch celebratory orange juice and post-recovery snack and picture-viewing party.

Post-launch celebratory OJ!

Post-recovery ice cream and picture viewing.