Monday, August 13, 2007

A quick overview of the Soli Deo Gloria 6 flight before I turn in for the night...

Balloon system description
----------------------------
Type: Superpressure
Env material: Polyester film
Volume: 25 cubic feet
Env mass: ~.8 pounds
Payload: Microtrak 300, Digitraveler, Ultralife 9v lithium battery x2
Payload enclosure: Tyvek mailing envelope, 8.5"x11", with approx. 12"x4" bubble wrap
Payload mass: ~5.5 ounces

Launch details
----------------
Launched during Bill Brown's 20th anniversary of amateur radio high-altitude ballooning celebration outside of Findlay, Ohio. Numerous other hams in attendance at the event helped to weigh off and launch the balloon - sorry, I'm terrible with names (if you were there, please add a comment and let me know!)

Flight details
---------------
Launch was just after 11:00am on Saturday, 11 August 2007 at approximately 40.9680 N, 83.6228 W. Balloon reached stable float around 7000 feet a short time later. Float altitude slowly dropped to around 6600 feet near nightfall and continued stable until around midnight local time. During this time period the balloon had continued to fly toward the south at around 10 mph. At approximately 3:30am on 12 August 2007, the balloon appears to have dropped within a narrow river valley in northern Kentucky. The packet from this location was the last received until approximately eight hours later, when the balloon again ascended high enough for its signals to be received by other APRS stations. A stable float altitude of approximately 6600 feet was again achieved and maintained until approximately 7:00pm local time, at which point terminal descent began. It appears as though the balloon was on the ground in southern Kentucky by 7:40pm or so at approximately 36.8678 N, 85.3772 W.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Robert,
I really enjoyed watching your flight launch and tracked it through the night and the next day. I wonder how many news reports of UFO's were reported along it's flight path. HI HI.
Keep up the good flights.
Larry M. Prelog KE4PM
Niles, MI