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Poster Presentation

Overcoming Disaster and Becoming Successful in the 2017 Solar Eclipse High Altitude Ballooning Project

Authors
  • Adonna Adams (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Brayden Bahnke (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Andruska Brink (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Alicia Evan (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Emmie Fish (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Daedre Gibbens (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Kevin Gwinn (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Trenton Hoffman (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Kared Huntington (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Morgan Johnson (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
  • Kayla Kakoona (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Ermogen Merculief (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Freida Nicori (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Joshua Okitkun (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Ernest Soolook (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Haylee Steffes (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Isaac Stewart (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Wendy Wade (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)
  • Reece Warren (Mt. Edgecumbe High School)

Abstract

Mt. Edgecumbe, a predominantly native residential high school, participated in the collaborative 2017 Solar Eclipse Ballooning project to film the moon’s umbra during the total solar eclipse. This project provided an educational experience for students that allowed them to develop STEM skills. The project engaged sixteen high school students through the academic year, six of those students traveled to Corvallis Oregon to deploy the High Altitude Balloon, and four have gone on to college pursing STEM related fields. The common eclipse payload developed by Montana Space Grant was integrated into the high school’s science and technology class. The construction and testing of the payload provided a conduit to teach topics related to the eclipse such as the solar system, engineering design process, electrical engineering, robotics and GPS tracking. The students developed technical skills such as soldering, programming and troubleshooting and experienced system integration as a team while testing the common payload and ground station. These newly developed engineering skills were put to the test in Corvallis as the team resolved un-anticipated problems with payload and ground station failures as well as a launch mishap. The students’ demonstrated resiliency in the face of disaster, came together as a team, and ultimately had a successful launch.

How to Cite:

Adams, A., Bahnke, B., Brink, A., Evan, A., Fish, E., Gibbens, D., Gwinn, K., Hoffman, T., Huntington, K., Johnson, M., Kakoona, K., Merculief, E., Nicori, F., Okitkun, J., Soolook, E., Steffes, H., Stewart, I., Wade, W. & Warren, R., (2017) “Overcoming Disaster and Becoming Successful in the 2017 Solar Eclipse High Altitude Ballooning Project”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2017(1). doi: https://doi.org//ahac.9778

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Published on
2017-10-27