The
launch team inflates the large 19,000 cu. ft. plastic balloon with nearly
1000 cu. ft. of helium. The balloon stands over 40 feet high (and makes a
great sail!!)
(See photos at end of story)
Due to high wind gusts that occurred just as we were preparing to launch, two large holes were torn in the balloon envelope. We attempted to tape the holes shut, pumped some more helium in the envelope and launched the system. We snagged a light pole (Almost made it!) and the bottom payload was stuck in the wires...Fortunately this was an audio line to loudspeakers at the county fair and no AC voltage was present. We were able to hook the radar reflector with an 18-foot pole and pull the payload away from the line and let it go...It just missed some more power lines by 2 feet but finally cleared everything and headed on its way. The balloon was easy to spot and appeared as a bright, shimmering spot in the sky for quite some time.
The downlinked ATV signal was fantastic with absolutely NO spinning whatsoever. It looked like an elevator ride. Great views of downtown Huntsville and surrounding suburbs could be seen during the early part of the flight. The ascent rate was a very slow 620 feet/minute. At 38,300 feet, the balloon system started to descent slowly (around 500 feet/minute). We think that the tape that was covering over the holes in the balloon let loose at this altitude and started to let out the helium.
We ended up travelling 108 miles downrange at a heading of 122 degrees from the launchsite. It landed aroun 2:00 pm CDT. The balloon landed behind a house north of the City of Villa Rica, Georgia (about 40 miles west of Atlanta. The woman who lived in the house was washing dishes and saw the balloon decend into her field behing her backyard. She thought it was a UFO and excitedly called the TV and radio stations. Finally she turned on her scanner and actually heard the chase team chatter as they closed in on the signals.
Foxhunters from the Atlanta area were tracking the APRS packet signals and the low power teletry beacons and quickly located the payload near the intersection of Highways101 and 120. It was lying in a bed of Cudzu behind the woman's house.
All payloads survived the flight and landing in good shape and even with the low altitude we attained, we consider the flight to be a success one considering this is the first zero pressure balloon that we have flown. We beat the odds and actually got everything off of the ground in a very high wind.
73 de Bill WB8ELK of the HALO group (High Altitude Lift Off)
The
launch team inflates the large 19,000 cu. ft. plastic balloon with nearly
1000 cu. ft. of helium. The balloon stands over 40 feet high (and makes a
great sail!!)
attaches
it to the fuel tank experiment (measurements of the tank's pressure and
temperature were taken throughout the flight and relayed down via APRS packet
messages).
The launch procedure included a built-in hold for payload
system test as well as a photo opportunity prior to actual liftoff. The telephone
pole waypoint facility worked great but requires pinpoint accuracy to properly
catch the balloon payload on the
line!
The
valiant Altanta chase team makes a clean recovery as Ralph Fowler N4NEQ peers
into the payload camera.
The flight path from launch to landing near Dallas, Georgia.
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