Balloon Trajectory Forecast

When it comes closer to the launch period we will find this link to be very important in our launch and flight positioning

Weight of the Otterbox

The Otterbox weighs 563.8g or 1.25lbs, so we are ok, this leaves us with with around 2.55lbs for the size of our balloon. In reference to the balloon, we will actually have a lot more cubic feet of helium than we need as that has been taken care of and will be ready in the next two weeks.

Instamapper Phone Tracking

GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com

Update

Phone is operational !! How often do you think we should transmit a signal? We are able to choose the second amount and it will continually run in the background..

Vivian's Blueprint

As we know, there may be some difficulty (or a variety of designs) that we can choose for attaching the balloon to the parachute and the parachute to the payload. Here is Vivian's idea..what do you guys think?

Zoom on camera

For the actual launch we must consider the zoom we are setting the prject off with. The camera can push all the way to a 4x zoom but if we had it there it might blur out the end result so play with it as much as you can and comment on zoom areas you think would work

- Mac. K

InstaMapper Website

Mark has found the website Instamapper

For our tracking purposes our username is "formangeography"
The password for our device is "geography"

Boost Mobile Phone

The Phone number for our Boost Mobile phone is 860 601 3039. Please ask me for the 4 digit pin if needed.

Lowering of the Camera

Jasons Sketch of the whole shebang

We are currently setting up the phone with Boost Mobile

Mark Malburg is showing great dauntlessness by activating the mobile they call Boost.  Legend says that the people who activate the Boost can use it's powers to call people with no "2 year contract" but with its ultimate power of prepaid cards.

At the drawing board

Jason and Austin working out the details for our design.

Setting up the phone

Mark and Benjamin setting up our Boost Mobile GPS Phone

Steps

We need to weigh everything (separate)
Then we weigh everything in the box
Test the boxes water proof without the camera, phone, etc..
Then put the camera and phone in the box and put it in water
Checking the GPS in different temperature

Design
The box will have wire/string attached to handles- the parachute strings will be attached to these strings on the handles. The top of the parachute has a loop that the balloon strings will be attached to.

Camera has arrived!

See pics below!

Website for Tracking (Att: Peter and Mark)

We are set up with an account with accutracking..the username is forman and the password is geography. I will leave to it Peter and Mark to figure out how to work this

First Drop Test

We just got our parachute and were eager to discover that it actually deployed after being released from the second floor of Williams. We ran our test by first researching our parachute and ordering it to the school. Once it got here, we attached a 5 Newton weight to the bottom of it, and I, Benjamin Goldstein, went up to Williams’ second floor. The rest of our team headed outside to watch and videotape the drop. Once everyone was in place and the camera was recording, I opened the window and dropped the parachute + payload down to the ground / rest of our team. The parachute ended up deploying a little too late and we were unable to get a really secure estimate of how fast the payload would be traveling to the ground. We then ran the test with a 10 Newton weight and the parachute released even later. Our main objectives now are running a higher drop test tomorrow and figuring out a way to attach the parachute to the balloon and the box.

-Ben Goldstein, Mark Malburg, and Jason Smith

camera

The camera finally came. David and I inserted the batteries and the sim card and recorded videos of the parachute deployed from the second floor. The camera was light and high quality. it would be perfect for our project.

Sim card still needed

The phone arrived, but there was no sim card in it. So I looked on different websites to see what they offered, and most were helpful, but others weren't, like Walmart. Funnell is going to order one because he found a source, so that is already taken care of.

GPS Apps

When I looked on AccuTracking I found many ways to track the phone  but since there was no sim card I couldn't do it today. But when we get the sim card I will be able to find the best solution to track using this phone. One of options that I saw was that we could use google earth to track it. But I will no for sure tonight when I test everything out.

Parachute has arrived!

Update

We have now bought our weather balloon along with the HD camera. We will need 50-100cf of helium and have found a place nearby that will supply us with a 122cf canister..

Material

Hey everyone, remember to wear latex gloves when handling the weather balloon at the launch site.  It is going to very fragile.  So keep that in mind.

creating a link in a post

I have noticed that a few people either have forgotten or are not sure how to turn a site into an actual link on a post. to do this, go to the little Link button in the little toolbar above the text box.
after clicking it, simply fill in the text you want the link to be shown as, or highlight the wanted text already in the post box, and then push the link button,
after doing this, copy and paste the URL into the "to what URL should this link go" spot.
once you do this, press OK, and you are all set.
your welcome!

Tree Density

This is the CT/NY area of the NASA tree density map. As you can see, the density is less toward the CT/NY border. We should consider this area as a launch site.

What we have bought so far...

1. OtterBox
2. Parachute
3. GPS / Boost Mobile Phone
4. Handwarmers (Vivian)


Balloon size is dependent on the weight of the payload so lets narrow down our weight once the products arrive.

FAA Regulations

1. No person may operate an unnamed ballon. 
2. We need to know the location of the launching site 
3. We need to estimate the duration of the flight 
4. We need to notify the FAA or military ATC facility immediately after the launch. 
5. Also if we cancel the launch we need to notify the FAA or ATC facility. 
6. We need to monitor the course of the ballon unless the ATC requires otherwise. 
7. Need to forward it’s position reports requested by ATC every two hours 
8. We can have an unnamed free ballon if it is authorized by ATC and it only goes 2,000 feet above the surface. 
9. An hour before the beginning decent we need to let the ATC and FAA know where it is and how it is and the forecast trajectory for the balance of the flight. 

review of april 16/possible launch area

people seem to be working pretty well, (as far as i can tell)
we seem to be making some good progress to day.

we are looking up a radar deflector so planes will notice it.
i think it should also be brightly colored, so that pilots will be able to physically see it more easily in the day time.
what does everyone think?
someone suggested that we launch near Lake Waramaug here is a link to their site
what do you guys think about this?
any other ideas?

high altitude weather prediction

 I found a website that provides accurate weather forecast, information and advice for expeditions to high-altitude locations. www.meteoexploration.com

I think high altitude weather doesn't really matter because there are always turbulent. we cant really avoid them.

Turbulence Map

Turbulence Map  This is a Map of high-altitude turbulence in the US. The radar updates every few hours. This is important to keep an eye on.

FAA Regulations

http://www.eoss.org/pubs/far_annotated.htm

WEIGHT

ran into a potential snag in terms of the weather balloon. An associate at the company said anything over 2 pounds would be pushing the maximum weight limit for the inexpensive balloon we previously thought we were purchasing. Anything over 6 or 7 pounds would definitely require a larger balloon, which can be upwards of $350, or require us to over inflate a smaller balloon causing it to burst early. The balloon I'm shooting for is 1000 grams, and costs 100 dollars. This balloon would support a five pound load, so that is what we should shoot for. The next step up is a balloon weighing 1600 grams and is around $200. obviously thats half our budget and isn't a possibility. We need to shoot for a 5 pound apparatus, and purchase the 1000 gram balloon. With that said if anyone knows the specs of a product that will be on the apparatus please respond to this post with those details. Weight is going to play an huge role in the outcome and quality of this project.

Population Density Map

We should look into possible launch sites...here is a population density map for NE.

App

Hey guys,

If you have an iphone/droid, you should check out the Blogger app. It's very convenient, works very well, and has all the same capabilities as the website itself. Also, it's free to download.

Next mod

We should set up a meeting time/place as for as often as we feel necessary for next mod.

Weather Forecasts

We need to look into high altitude weather forecasts

Today wasn't as productive as days past, but we've sorted out various logistical issues involving the parachute and actual balloon. Goldstein located a company that we can purchase the actual parachute from... which I believe is mentioned in an earlier post... After navigating this site we discovered our first potential problem... The size parachute we need. We are currently trying to decide between a chute that supports a nine pound apparatus, and a 6.5 pound apparatus. There is a considerable range in diameter between these two chutes which poses a big problem. The larger chute will cause the load to accelerate more slowly, which would make it more susceptible to drifting farther away from the launch site. The smaller chute on the other hand will have a faster descent, but may harm the camera and such upon landing. This is the prominent debate as of now. Along with this Kevin found a potential back up camera, and cheap hand warmers. Marc located a boost mobile phone which could be considered for the GPS. As of now we are in good shape financially as all these items are relatively inexpensive. Our focus going into tomorrow should be on figuring out an actual weight of all the equipment we will have in the apparatus, to put the problem of parachute size to bed.

Hand Warmers as well

Found these: Handwarmers

Very inexpensive, buy multiples?

Possible Backup Camera?

Movie data :

	Standard			Miniature Effect
	HD: 1280 x 720	640 x 480	320 x 240	HD: 1280 x 720			VGA: 640 x 480
	24 fps**	30 fps***	30 fps***	5x	10x	20x	5x	10x	20x
				6 fps	3 fps	1.5 fps	6 fps	3 fps	1.5 fps
Video Size (KB/sec.)	2,345	1,240	319	573	287	143	246	123	61
4GB	26 min. 48 sec.	50 min. 17 sec.	3 hr. 2 min. 52 sec.	1 hr. 45 min. 52 sec.	3 hr. 21 min. 9 sec.	5 hr. 35 min. 16 sec.	3 hr. 43 min. 30 sec.	6 hr. 42 min. 20 sec.	11 hr. 10 min. 33 sec.
16GB	1 hr. 49 min. 48 sec.	3 hr. 25 min. 54 sec.	12 hr. 28 min. 47 sec.	7 hr. 13 min. 30 sec.	13 hr. 43 min. 40 sec.	22 hr. 52 min. 47 sec.	15 hr. 15 min. 11 sec.	27 hr. 27min. 20 sec.	45 hr. 45 min. 35 sec.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Powershot-A1200-Digital-Black/dp/B004HW73S4/ref=sr_1_2?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1334159070&sr=1-2


What do you guys think?

EVERY ONE PLEASE AND COMMENT

I have found a company called Rocket Man Enterprises.  They seem to be a legit company and I beleive we should purchase there parachute.  If we choose to buy from them I would like for you guys to look a the site http://www.the-rocketman.com/recovery.html and see for youself if you like it.  Adding on what size should we get.

Should we buy from Rocket Man?
What size if we choose to buy from them?

ATTN: Mark and Peter (Boost Mobile GPS)

I had this idea based off what we have researched. We may be able to use a Boost Mobile phone (available from Sprint) for our tracking. I have not researched it fully, but we should be able to activate it for $40 and use the website Accutracking. Below are two links, and I am sure there are more. All I googled was "using a boost mobile prepaid phone for gps tracking".

Site 1 - InstaMapper Website - DIY GPS

Site 2 - Accutracking Website

Others may feel free to comment

Materials List

I think we are on track to make this a successful launch, I would like to narrow down and confirm our materials so that we are within our budget and we know exactly what we are getting. I think we are all agree on the Otterbox design (found by Austin) for our payload. One question I would have would be its attachment points, i.e. will it be easy to attach our parachute. Hussein and David will have to work on its shape in case of a water landing to add extra floatation. So at the moment we are all in congruence that we will be spending $30 (plus s&h and tax presumable) on the box, correct?

April 10 overall overview

i have seen the progress from today.
keep in mind that our budget is $400.00 so keep it efficient and keep working togther.
everyone has been doing a great job looking things up and recording the information and brainstorming ideas.
keep up the good work!
david- overall manager partner person

How high will the balloon go?

The ballon that goes to 100,000 ft (30.48 Km) the balloon had made it to the karman line which is a layer in our atmosphere in between 95 km and 600km

Here's the design of balloon attaching to the parachute and the box. when the balloon pops, the parachute will deploy immediately.  

Jason Smith's Design

seniors: please read

i agree with austin's idea for the otter box
i also think that hussein's (blogmaster) idea for the LED lights is great
thank you for the info ben goldstien! great job!
good job with the camera, that is a good idea jason.
great job with the GPS info mark! great idea!

I have recently contacted Rocket man Enterprises; high powered rocketry their digits are 952-881-6260 they specialize in parachutes especially in ones going into space with a box underneath.

They have given me information telling me that at 100,000 feet most balloons pop.  They told me though to attach the parachute under the balloon connected to the box.  

Otterbox case

This is a waterproof case made by Otterbox. The box is clear, so a camera could still take pictures, it comes with high-quality foam that can be taken out and moved around however we want it, AND it floats. $30 for the case on Otterbox.com

Emergency Beacons

I think this would be a good add on to our project by sticking emergensy LED lights on the box.

You can find it here on Amazon

heres a place to purchase weather balloons

http://www.scientificsales.com/Meteorological-Weather-Sounding-Balloon-s/25.htm

camera

i just called a camera store, the manager is checking their inventory for a still camera that shoots in 10 second intervals to go along with the video.

Ben Goldstein - Parachutes

Payload Recovery Parachutes are made of Low-porosity 1.1 Rip-stop Nylon.

* Adjustable descent (pat#5472394)

* Quick, soft, reliable deployment

* No shock cord required

* Reinforced with nylon webbing

* Tubular shroud lines sewn over the top of the canopy

* Positive controlled deployment

* 4 shroud lines reduce chances of tangling

* More stable than cross-form or conical chutes

* Professionally designed at a fair price

* Made in the USA

Possible GPS

So for the GPS there has been a lot of talk about the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger. That GPS is perfect for our needs and already at our disposal, but we do not NEED to use that GPS. The only thing that is absolutely necessary for the GPS that we use is that it has geocaching, which is the ability for a GPS to send its coordinates to a computer at set intervals of time. A couple of other GPS that geocache besides the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger are the Apisphere Geomate.jr Geocaching GPS and the Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS Navigator. They are both also less expensive than the spot, the former being only $70 and the latter being $85.

Just some things to consider!

materials

Goldstein and I have been looking up materials for the balloon - such as tape to for the outside of the box, styrofoam to make the box, and a foam mattress pad to put on the inside of the box.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA06N07D9249&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle2&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle2-_-HW+-+Skin+Condition+Treatments-_-VAL+MED-_-9SIA06N07D9249 mattress pad 

http://www.amazon.com/Sheet-x6-x12-Pkg-White/dp/B003T2UXLW

styrofoam sheets 

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/GORILLA-GLUE-Duct-Tape-1TMA6?cm_mmc=CSE:GoogleBase-_-Adhesives%2C%20Sealants%20and%20Tape-_-Tapes-_-1TMA6&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=1TMA6

gorilla tape

-Austin Iverson

structure idea

i think that we should have the parachute inside the balloon, so when it pops it deploys the chute. i also think we should go with kevin grace's idea (just in case), like if the parachute does not fully deploy, like it does not actually open or something like that.
also, please look at my other post.
david

Great Website for resources

Please check out the following website and see if you can gather any information from their resources..I will look into them as well :)

http://www.hobbyspace.com/NearSpace/index.html#Balloons


Also found this picture as we think off our design for the box..

I found a publishing website

I have recently found a website (link under description) that publishes science/outerspace stories by people from around the world.  I have looked all over the website and we can even publish our project, "UP" on it so people from around the world can view it.

Contact information: (i just sent her an e-mail) nancy@universetoday.com that's e-mail i read who we send in our story to.

The website: http://www.universetoday.com/

Project 55

Mac Kirk found this video about a group of highschool students launching a weather balloon into space. Check it out!

ideas

 David Wiskind
"three high-definition cameras placed a 120 degrees apart from each other mounted to its payload."

"track the balloon’s flight via cell phone, picking up information from the GPS sensor it piped through an amateur radio system, which was also placed in the balloon’s payload."

"a latex balloon and encased the cameras and radio with polystyrene foam to prevent temperature and water damage. They threw in a few hand warmers for good measure "

i found these sentences in an article which can be found on:  http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2012/01/28/news/doc4f248f5811b5d498758852.txt?viewmode=default

When I looked again I came to the conclusion that it would be better to have a GPS receiver that would relay where it lands and where it's been would be the best idea. So Mark if you have any ideas just let me know. I will continue to look for the best GPS receiver.

Near Space Balloon Flight, shot with HD HERO cameras from GoPro from Kevin Macko on Vimeo.

"We are a group of engineers/designers from San Francisco. This was our second balloon launch on 6/5/2010. Shot with 2 HD Hero cameras from GoPro. Launched from the California coast near Davenport, landed in Crows Landing 70 miles away. Peak altitude 80,000 feet. Acquired GPS, pressure, accelerometer, and temperature data with a Shadowbox (shadowboxlive.com). The payload was tracked with a SPOT satellite personal tracker."


We need to get a HD Gopro Camera.

Boxes

I have done some serious research and I have found a website and google links.

Here are some links

http://usedcardboardboxes.com/

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=cheap+boxes&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=cheap+boxes&hl=en&safe=active&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&tbs=vw:g&tbm=shop&prmd=imvns&ei=FSiDT7ndEYHq0gHLrPz3Bw&ved=0CPMBEL0N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=b0dbb0c5db9803c6&biw=1280&bih=593&safe=active

Parachute, or a super-shock resistant Container?

I talked to a guy who knows a guy, who knows a lot about SD chips and what not, and he said that it was incredibly hard to destroy one, including its data.  So what i was thinking was that we made a super shock resistant case instead of a parachute to avoid wander of our balloon.  This case would be water-proof, just in preparation for the worst.  What do you guys think?

Working Hard, or Hardly Working?

The first one, working hard!

So after looking I came to the conclusion that the best GPS would be the Spot Connect GPS Messenger/Tracking System which on Amazon is $109 and on the regular site it is 169. When I get to class tomorrow I will learn more about to really see if it is the best option.

I figured out that the best GPS I have found so far would  be the Spot GPS but I am still looking

MIT Students Design - Justin Lee and Oliver Yeh

Vivian found this diagram which shows how others have designed this project

Potential Problems. (Mac Kirk)

1. Calling FAA before launch
2. Keeping the box warm at high altitudes
3. Reducing impact upon landing
4. Camera battery life.
5. Pictures and videos?
6. Dependable products
7. Having our equipment show on radar
8. The estimated weight/ will parachute be able to hold it.
9. Parachute deployment strategy
10. Gps tracking?
11. Potential perimeter of landing sight
12. Weather on launch day

4/7/12 - Research - Vivian

Vivian is researching the mechanics of the parachute for Up Enterprises. What have you found?

Progressive minds breed innovation

Progressive minds breed innovation

We have been slowly progressing with our project "Up Enterprises" Now this is where we settle everything and make our plans come to fruition. Whether it is finding the cheap prices or stronger more durable material, we are working strongly together to make the best product we can. We have shared the workload in the following manner:

Mac/Jason Smith- Working to find cheap balloons that will last in the temperature and atmosphere

Ben/Eduardo Job, Austin Iverson- Finding sturdy inexpensive boxes for practice and launch that wont lose its form in atmosphere

Peter/Mark Malburg- Locating cheap accurate GPS that will be easy to work with and around

Vivian/Ben Goldstein- Looking for efficient strong parachute that will keep our project landing safely

Rene/ Kevin Grace- Finding a solid quality camera that will still produce film in high atmosphere

David/Hussein Elwy- Overall management to help make the most strong and efficient product under the budget.