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USC Wide Angle Navigational Kinetic Eclipse Photography

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Abstract

The University of Southern California Astronautical Engineering department, with generous funding from the wider Viterbi School of Engineering, set a goal of photographing the US solar eclipse in April 2024 from a payload flown on a helium high-altitude balloon. A USC team consisting of students across several academic levels successfully completed this objective. Several GoPro models and a Sony RX0II were configured to photograph the eclipse from a range of angles, as well as the wider high altitude environment. Monte Carlo methods were employed to predict and characterise the trajectory undertaken by the flight. Atmospheric conditions such as historic wind and humidity data were utilised to predict ascent rates, bursting altitude, crossing of totality, parachute-aided descent rates and subsequent sigma distributions for likely landing sites. In keeping with local laws and FAA regulations, subsequent analysis concluded that a launch from San Antonio, Texas provided the most optimal and safe flight path that fulfills the mission requirements. The landing zone was calculated to be within the greater Fredericksburg, Texas area. Despite complications during the launch, owing to especially strong winds and thus overinflation of the balloon, the final landing site lay within the three-sigma landing predictions, demonstrating a successful analysis.

Keywords: Eclipse Ballooning, 2024 Eclipse, 2024 Solar Eclipse, USC Astronautical Engineering, University of Southern California, University of Southern California Eclipse Ballooning Project, Eclipse Photography, Solar Eclipse, San Antonio Texas Eclipse

How to Cite:

Lana, A., Arakelyan, A., Lototsky, N., Hall, H., Jung, G., Zaretsky, A., Coen, C., Colon, F., Parmar, S., Meyer, J. & Erwin, D., (2024) “USC Wide Angle Navigational Kinetic Eclipse Photography”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2024(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.17961