• Algorithm
• Ascent
• Balloon
• Descent
• Simulation
• Software
• Sounding
• Stabilization
• Trajectory

The increasing popularity of high-altitude ballooning, in particular the use of sounding balloon for research and development of rocket and satellite technology, lead to the need to know a priori that the balloon’s trajectory is not likely to be hazardous. Such knowledge is typically based on numerical forecasts of the balloon’s trajectory. Flight trajectory predictions are critical for high altitude balloon operations to ensure safety and ease the recovery of payloads. They provide the HAB team with the information needed to choose the optimal launch time, date, and location to maximize the chances of a successful flight. Although no method achieves perfect accuracy, several free programs exist which are user friendly, and which yield acceptable predictions. The main goal of the present work here reported was to describe the theoretical bases and the development process of SIMBALL, a new software tool for flight trajectory predictions of sounding balloon, in order to determining the probable trajectory, recover the payload and reduce the possibility of hitting something on landing, that depends from the main mission parameters and adding features which are not present in any other predictors.