Poster Presentation

Placing a High-Altitude Balloon in the Path of Totality

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Abstract

The UAH Space Hardware Club had conducted 70 flights prior to the Eclipse. In this time, we have gained valuable skills and experience which we have put into practice and passed on through the years. We put these skills into practice for the Eclipse. Our first challenge was finding where to launch. We started out by looking for suitable locations inside totality. We also examined a map of totality at 80,000 ft. We then ran predictions based on past weather during that time of year. By compiling multiple past predictions, we eliminated possible launch sites. We had multiple payloads, some needed altitude others needed to be as close as possible to a ground station during totality to stream video of the eclipse. We planned for two balloons to get all payloads where they needed to be. We then, began preliminary burst calculations. Up to 10 days before launch, we begin predictions using the tools provided by HabHub. HabHub can output KMLs which displays 3D position. This allows us to calculate what balloons and helium we need. Come flight day we use prepared checklists during launch operations including fill and line preparation. We use custom fill rigs and pipe clamps to fill our balloons. We track our balloons primarily through APRS trackers with SPOT Trace backups. The APRS allows us to maintain complete telemetry through flight and is receivable through multiple forms. We learn from each launch so, we strive to share these lessons the with others and pass them on.

How to Cite:

Jordan, N., Helmerich, C. & Wessling, F., (2017) “Placing a High-Altitude Balloon in the Path of Totality”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2017(1). doi: https://doi.org//ahac.9782