Some Progress...

The Near Space Capsule

 This week we made some purchases both online and at a couple stores, and began construction on the near space capsule. Our shopping list included: PVC couplings, duct tape (very useful), aluminum tape, 48" parachute made of ripstop nylon, 100 feet of 2mm nylon rope, and a couple blocks of floral foam. The PVC couplings are going to be used inside the balloon neck to provide a structure to which we can attach the rope and parachute. We'll do that when we finally get the balloon. The duct tape is, of course, used for sticking stuff together (yes, this is a technical term). The aluminum tape has a unique purpose. The aluminum surface of the tape works great to reflect radar signals, and with it we built the aptly named "radar reflector". The parachute was purchased from rocketchutes.com. Yes, we got the biggest one they had. For the cables, we got nylon rope from REI. We're not sure of the exact tensile strength, but it's definitely strong enough for our project. The floral foam proved to be a suitable filler for the capsule interior: it's stiff, easy to cut, and lightweight. Not to mention inexpensive, too. 

Anyway, we were able to do most of the construction of the near space capsule. This mostly involved cutting holes in the box and the floral foam, as well as duct taping the whole thing (you know, because duct tape makes everything stronger). All that's left for the capsule is to figure out the rigging of the nylon rope and to make sure the GoPro will stay secure (wouldn't want it falling out mid-flight). 

We also constructed a radar reflector so that the local ATC or any radar-equipped device can track it in the air (hopefully). We wouldn't want it to get sucked up in the turbine of a 747. I don't feel like explaining how exactly the radar reflector works, but here's a great video by Smarter Every Day and Minutephysics that does a good job of explaining it. 

Well that's about it. Our launch date has been set (tentatively) for either the 10th or 17th of August. I've attached pictures and videos at the bottom of this post of our progress. Again, be sure to check back with us frequently.