Oral Presentation Only

Using Balloon Launches as a Precursor to Small Satellite High School Education

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Abstract

In August 2017, Destination SPACE (Satellite Program for Aerospace-Centered Education) launched its pilot run of Satellite Week, a camp where high school students learned about satellites and remote sensing through constructing small weather stations and launching them on low altitude balloons in Asheville, North Carolina. The payloads, designed and produced by XinaBox, represented nanosatellites. Students learned about calibration, data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation, as well as how weather balloons are used to test atmospheric conditions prior to the launch of a rocket. The students will continue to use these skills as they enter the Nanosatellite Program, a three phase program that runs during the school year. Teams conduct both low and high altitude balloon launches and ultimately design and build their own Nanosatellite. Destination SPACE is manifested for launch on the second stage of a supply rocket to the International Space Station in October 2018. Destination SPACE’s Nanosatellite Program is developed in collaboration with Twiggs Space Lab and Virginia Commercial Space.

How to Cite:

Dooley, K., Cecil, L., Hollingshead, A. & Courtright, A., (2017) “Using Balloon Launches as a Precursor to Small Satellite High School Education”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2017(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.3457