FOR PRESS : 66

FOUR-MAN AMERICAN PARTY TO ARRIVE IN  MELBOURNE FOR BALLOON LAUNCHING

Statement "by the Minister for Supply,  Senator the Hon. Lenham Henty

A four-man American party will arrive in Melbourne on

Monday, February 7Â» in connection with the first Australian

launching of a balloon capable of reaching 120,000 feet*

The Minister for Supply, Senator Denham Henty, said this

in Canberra to-day, February 4*

He said : ’’For some years a Department of Supply team

has launched at Milaura, huge balloons to determine, on

behalf of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the content of

radio-active material in the upper atmosphere,

"Australian-Amerlean co-operation is the keynote of this

operation, called project HIBAL.

"So far, balloons launched from Mildura have not exceeded

a height of about 105,000 ft.

"The first launching of the new balloons, which are

expected to reach an altitude of 120,000 ft., has been scheduled

for the second week in February." .

Senator Denham Henty said the American party would be led

by Mr. William FÂ« Marlow, a radiochemist of the fall-out

Studies Branch of the Division of Biology and Medicine of

the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

The party would spend about three weeks in Australia and

would also visit the Supply Department's Weapons Research

Establishment at Salisbury, The Woomera Rocket Range and the

Australian Atomic Energy Research Centre at Lucas Heights*.

Senator Henty said the Americans were also interested in

the possible use of rockets for upper-atmosphere research.

CANBERRA

February L. 1966 - PÃ¢ÂÂM

