BLAST (the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Sub-millimetre Telescope) on the 'flightline' at Esrange. This photo was taken within one hour of the 1:10 UTC June 12 2005 launch. BLAST is the large structure at the far right (covered mostly by aluminized mylar and solar arrays) hanging from the launch vehicle (yellow). Several grad students are standing in front of the launch vehicle for scale. BLAST is attached to both the launch vehicle and the flight train at the top. The flight train (cables that BLAST suspends from during flight) is draped over the top of the launch vehicle where it attaches to the parachute (orange/white) which is in turn attached to the balloon (white). The balloon is stretched along the ground until it gets to the 'spool truck', above which it is filled with helium, which is ongoing (through the two white tubes extending from near the top of the balloon to the ground) at the time the photo was taken. The balloon is only partially inflated before launch. As the balloon ascends and the atmospheric pressure decreases, the helium in the balloon will expand and eventually fill the balloon fully, at which point the balloon will stop rising, a point referred to as 'float,' at 35 - 40 km altitude.