Finally, after repeated postponements due to unfavorable weather conditions, HiWind launched from Esrange Space Center, Kiruna, Sweden, on Sunday, June 24. The HiWIND team arrived in early May 2018. During May, they assembled the gondola and mounted numerous specialized instrumentation in preparation for a June launch. On June 8 the winds appeared low enough to make launch possible and HiWIND left the dome for testing. However, the ground winds increased and the payload was returned. In another effort, on 13 June, the team did pre-launch testing, but the ground winds persisted and the launch was canceled yet again.
HiWIND launched on 24 June. HiWIND flew directly west over Greenland and the Northwest Territories and landed in west Canada near Kugluktuk on Sunday, 1 July. The payload is still transmitting data packets while on the ground. This usually indicates a fairly soft landing. We are optimistic that the payload survived and will continue to be fine until the recovery team arrives.
Learn about the HiWIND 2011 campaign: https://www2.hao.ucar.edu/hiwind-project-sweden-june-2011
