The Launch Site

Bend, Oregon (the middle of nowhere)

As I posted earlier, we're going to be launching just southeast of Bend, Oregon. Why Bend? You can tell from the picture the reason. This shot is from Google Earth taken from one of the local highways. Yep, not a whole lot to see. It is quite desolate, which provides a perfect place to launch and recover without bothering anyone. Another reason: the trees. You'll notice that they are quite short and not too dense. This will make it quite easy to recover the capsule because of the high probability it will land on the ground and not get stuck up in a tree. It also makes traveling to the landing site easy and fast. 

How did I choose this site? Honestly, I just looked at Oregon in Google Earth and found what looked like the flattest and most desolate area (no offense to anyone living in Bend). It may be difficult to see, but Bend is right there in the center of Oregon. You may say "what about that area in the north? It looks pretty desolate." You're right, it is desolate, but the terrain there is pretty hilly, which could make transportation difficult. I had also previously considered using the Willamette Valley (that grayish strip south of Portland). However, according to wind predictions, the balloon would be propelled Eastward by the wind and end up in the Cascade Range, which has poor cell service.

That brings us another reason we chose Bend.

Although it may be difficult to see in this picture, it shows that our landing zone (we'll get to that next) should be within coverage. Why do we need cell service? Our method of recovery requires communication with a cell phone, so if it landed in a coverage-free zone, all we would have to find it would be wind predictions and dumb luck (believe me, I really don't want to have to find it without gps coordinates). To predict the landing location, we use a program called CUSF Landing Predictor 2.0, which you can find here. That's about all I have to say about location, but things may change depending on wind predictions, new locations etc. The next post will probably be about the individual elements like the camera, balloon, parachute, cell phone and things of that nature. I will be making a new post at least once a week, so be sure to check back often!

Near Space Ballooning

What is it?

Near space ballooning is sending a capsule into near space (65,000-350,000 ft) for the purpose of experimentation or photography. When the balloon reaches a certain altitude, it pops (due to the decreasing air pressure), and the capsule falls back to earth, slowed by a parachute. The capsule is found using some form of gps combined with a radio transmitter. 

What is the plan?

My brother and I will be sending a capsule outfitted with a GoPro Camera to take HD video of the entire flight. We will recover the capsule using gps coordinates sent from an Android smartphone. This is where we encounter our first problem: it is technically illegal to operate a cell phone on aircraft, there may be some ways around this (within the boundaries of legality, of course) in our project. In any case, the cell phone will ultimately lose coverage after a certain altitude because of the fact that the signal is ground-based. We are still researching the rules and regulations. After the capsule lands (about 2 hours later), we will send a text message to the phone, and it will report back to us its gps coordinates. 

How much will it cost?

We are looking at about $400-$500 total for the entire mission. Most of this price comes from the GoPro, the balloon, and the helium. We have already purchased a GoPro Hero 2 for $185 (more than I was hoping, but realistically, this is a good price). The balloon will cost $50-$80 and we are buying two in case one of them pops while filling up (I don't expect this to happen, but I would rather be prepared). I have not yet checked helium prices, but we'd like to keep that under $100 (yeah, it's expensive). The parachute will be either handmade or purchased, around $30. The rest of the cost is for other supplies like the line, zip ties, spray paint (black, so that it absorbs most of the sun's rays to heat it up. Temperature can be around negative 70 degrees Fahrenheit), and of course, duct tape. The cost may go up or down depending on what deals we do or don't get.

Where will it go?

We are launching outside of Bend, Oregon. The area there is fairly flat, has few tall trees, and also has sufficient cell coverage. Our target altitude is 100k feet. Horizontally, the balloon can travel anywhere from 10 to 100 miles, given the right conditions. But we're hoping it's closer to 10. 

Why?

Because.

Why because? 

Because we want to. Because few people our age do something like this. Because we can. Because it's there. Now stop asking questions.