ACE BALLOON PROJECT 2006
Culminating several weeks of preparation by a group of students enrolled in summer programs sponsored by the Idaho Dept. of Transportation, Aeronautics Division, and led by Frank Lester, the launch and recovery team came together late evening Tuesday, June 27th, in Boise to discuss final preparations for Wednesday's planned launch and recovery. The launch and recovery team consisted of Paul Verhage/KD4STH, John Kisela/KD7RNW, Tim Henderson/N7WSQ, Nate the student intern, and myself. We conducted final checks of the seven payloads which consisted primarily of 35mm cameras, temperature and air pressure sensors, and two APRS trackers. We calculated a 45' package from top of the balloon to the bottom package, and about 12.5 pounds total weight. Weather prediction software indicated a ENE flow for Wednesday morning, so we picked a launch area near Adrian, OR, west of Caldwell, Idaho, on the Oregon border and planned to launch at 0700.
John and I had rooms at the nearby Motel 6, and were both up at 0400 Wednesday to meet a 0445 obligation to load up the package and head west to Adrian. We departed the Aeronautics Division office about 0530 and arrived in Adrian well in advance of the planned launch time. Paul had some concerns about a shorter trip which placed the LZ too near I-84, so we backtracked about four miles into Idaho and found a suitable launch site. The balloon fill and package layout went without incident, and we released the balloon at 0710 hrs. We packed up and had a leisurely drive eastward, allthewhile monitoring the balloon's ascent towards near space.
Prior to reaching 60K feet, the balloon was ascending about 1000 fpm on a ENE heading, as predicted, at speeds of 4-15 mph. Through 60K feet the winds had shifted back to west and increased to 40+ mph. The package resumed a NE heading at about 68K feet and slowed back down to about 10 mph. Burst occurred at 0838 hrs (1:28 into the flight) at 90528 altitude, just west of I-84.
The descent appeared normal and the parachute was visible at about 20K feet. We were now well east of the freeway, but further south of the predicted LZ by several miles. We continued to follow the descent visually as we drove through some rural areas on nice paved roads. Touchdown occurred at 0916 hrs, translating to a 38 minute descent at a little over 2000 fpm. We were just 60 yards from the package when it landed in a private property field. We obtained permission to access the property from its owner, and had the package back in our hands a few moments later. Total elapsed flight duration was 2 hrs 6 minutes for an 18 mile flight. The package was intact, except for the latex balloon. All that was left of it was about the bottom two feet of the balloon.
Balloon fill and launch activities, near ID/OR state line. That's Nate in
the USMC motif, and Tim in the red shirt. This was Tim's first balloon launch.
Final preps for launch, Paul and Nate turn on the cameras and APRS trackers.
John checking out the package. Up, up, and away goes the balloon package.
At the recovery site, 18 miles down range. The package survived the flight
just fine.
More pics to follow, from the onboard cameras.
David K7GPS sends.