Eclipse-Ballooning 2017: The U of MN–Twin Cities Experience
- James Flaten (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
- Joshua Nelson (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Ryan Bowers (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Benjamin Geadlemann (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Austin Langford (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Austin Eiler (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Jordan Diers (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Daniel Toth (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Simon Peterson (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Garrett Ailts (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Michael Waataja (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Celia Gonzalez (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Lucas Zumwalt (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Kathryn Kwiencinski (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Ethan Och (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Sawyer Mitchell (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Esther O'Connor (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Alexandra Warbritton (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Michael Koenig (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Nicholas Talberg (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Christopher Gosch (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Stephanie Wegner (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
- Chad Serba (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)
Abstract
The stratospheric ballooning team at the U of MN – Twin Cities started working on eclipse-ballooning in the fall of 2013, even before the Montana Space Grant announced their plan to organize a national Eclipse Ballooning Project. Our team promptly signed up to assist their effort, and have been heavily involved ever since. This presentation will discuss our eclipse-ballooning efforts and progress over the past 4 years. Our experiences include experimenting with a GoPro-based video-telemetry system (which ultimately was not as successful as Montana’s Raspberry-Pi-based system), adopting (then helping test, modify, and teach other teams to learn to use) the Montana telemetry system, practicing with up-range and down-range ground station placement, developing and testing passive anti-rotation devices and active camera-pointing devices to improve video quality, landing two eclipse-telemetry systems in Minnesota lakes one week before the eclipse (ouch!), flying five balloon stacks during the eclipse from near Grand Island, NE, and organizing/hosting AHAC 2017. We will also discuss ways in which we have already begun to use the telemetry equipment for non-eclipse balloon missions. The eclipse project has greatly expanded our HAB network and ballooning capabilities in multiple different directions, and will continue to strongly influence our stratospheric ballooning program for years to come.
How to Cite:
Flaten, J., Nelson, J., Bowers, R., Geadlemann, B., Langford, A., Eiler, A., Diers, J., Toth, D., Peterson, S., Ailts, G., Waataja, M., Gonzalez, C., Zumwalt, L., Kwiencinski, K., Och, E., Mitchell, S., O'Connor, E., Warbritton, A., Koenig, M., Talberg, N., Gosch, C., Wegner, S. & Serba, C., (2017) “Eclipse-Ballooning 2017: The U of MN–Twin Cities Experience”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2017(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.5548
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