112 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
112 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
<figure>
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<img src="_sb5_IMG_9220.JPG" title="500 px" />
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<figcaption>500 px</figcaption>
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</figure>
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Spaceblimp-5 Launched: July 9, 2011
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## Summary
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This time we were going for altitude, and we got it! The max recorded
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altitude was 118,533 ft! (Getting us the 16th highest altitude record on
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[ARHAB.org](http://arhab.org/) !)
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The launch site was: Strasburg VA, in a open area near the town on Rt
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11, near the I-81. Lat: 38.9968 N Lon: 78.3508W
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The path the balloon took was pretty strange, with the wind shifting
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between ascent and descent, and so we had a lot more driving to do than
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usual. The primary GPS/radio worked perfectly, and we got super-lucky
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with the recovery, picking up the package ~15 minutes after it hit the
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ground. The video camera overheated and failed before launch (booo!) and
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we're still working on the instrument data, but all signs point to some
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new and interesting results at the highest altitude we've ever run.
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What challenges are left for the Spaceblimp project? Get involved:
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subscribe to [the Spaceblimp mailing
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list](http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/spaceblimp) and help us figure
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it out!
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Visiting from another planet? [Here's more about
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us](http://www.hacdc.org/about).
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Want to help us do more awesome stuff? [Make a tax deductible donation
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to our .org!](http://www.hacdc.org/donate)
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## Pictures and Video
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Photos have been uploaded to
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<http://www.flickr.com/photos/itechgeek/sets/72157627058450849/>.
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## Data
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### Accelerometer
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For now, here is the raw accelerometer data: [Media:
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spaceblimp5_accelerometer.csv.gz](Media:_spaceblimp5_accelerometer.csv.gz "wikilink")
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Analysis to come in the next few days....
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### Flight Tracker
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## Launch Plans
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| Planned launch date: | Saturday, July 9, 2011 |
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|----------------------:|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| Launch time: | 10:00 AM, Launch should take less than an hour. |
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| Launch Location: | Strasburg, VA |
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| Coordination/Talk-in: | 146.685 MHz simplex (this might change, please monitor Twitter (@HacDCSpaceblimp) and mailing list for updates. |
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| Planned Altitude: | 120,000 Feet |
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| Planned Ascent Rate: | 1,000 feet/minute |
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| Planned Descent Rate: | 1,000 feet/minute |
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| Primary Beacon: | Son-of-WhereAVR with ublox GPS. Yaesu VX-1 handi-talkie with 1 W Transmitter, call sign W3HAC-11 ([map](http://aprs.fi/?call=W3HAC-11)), Frequency 144.390 MHz |
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| Secondary Beacon: | GSM mobile phone modue, uBlox GPS |
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| Payload: | 9 DOF IMU, Geiger counter, temperature, pressure, humidity, and light sensors |
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## Payload
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### Radios
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There were two radios on board the blimp that transmitted out the GPS
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data:
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- The primary radio was tied to the GPS and transmitted out to a network
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of amateur radio enthusiasts who then passed the location information
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on to get mapped here: [APRS.fi](http://aprs.fi/?call=W3HAC-11). We
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also ran some custom software that passes this data on to a Twitter
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account (once per minute!) which you could follow on your phone: [DC
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Spaceblimp Primary Twitter Feed](http://twitter.com/#!/DCSpaceblimp).
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(Click the link in the Twitter to pull up a map!)
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<!-- -->
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- The secondary radio was actually a GSM cell phone module, and
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broadcasted its data when in range of a cell tower. It broadcasted
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both GPS data for tracking, and a lot of the sensor data for science.
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It also twittered through [Society Of Robots Twitter
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Feed](http://twitter.com/#!/SocietyofRobotz).
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### Cameras
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The payload contains a couple cameras:
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- a video camera (Canon Zi6)
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- a still camera (Canon Powershot A-480) running custom firmware to get
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better exposures from space
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### Instrumentation
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and a lot of instrumentation:
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- a geiger counter
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- 9 degree-of-freedom IMU ([Inertial Measurement Unit on
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Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_measurement_unit))
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- high-speed (50 sample/sec) accelerometer
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- internal and external temperature sensors
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- humidity sensor
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- air pressure sensor
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- IR and visible light sensors
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- a solar panel, hooked up to measure the voltage |