Saturday, March 22, 2008
Possible SDG-9 trajectories
Here are three possible trajectories for SDG-9 as of 1900z today. It should be audible in Newfoundland right now if it is flying at 9-10km, otherwise it is unlikely to be heard by anyone for a while.
Beacon details for SDG-9
The beacon is transmitting the following string on 29.499 Mhz using conventional CW:
DE KA2QPG BLN F 000 A 000 EMAIL ROCHTE AT GMAIL.COM AR
Where the number following "F" is the frame counter, incrementing with each transmission, and the number following "A" is a numeric code representing temperature. Below is a table of numeric values and associated temperatures in Celsius.
Note that both the "A" value and the frequency of the beacon will drift significantly downward after local sunset for the balloon.
DE KA2QPG BLN F 000 A 000 EMAIL ROCHTE AT GMAIL.COM AR
Where the number following "F" is the frame counter, incrementing with each transmission, and the number following "A" is a numeric code representing temperature. Below is a table of numeric values and associated temperatures in Celsius.
| "A" | Temp |
|---|---|
| 058 | -50 |
| 070 | -45 |
| 085 | -40 |
| 101 | -35 |
| 117 | -30 |
| 133 | -25 |
| 148 | -20 |
| 163 | -15 |
| 176 | -10 |
| 188 | -5 |
| 198 | 0 |
Note that both the "A" value and the frequency of the beacon will drift significantly downward after local sunset for the balloon.
SDG-9 update
Tom, WB2YDS, is on Long Island and copied a good deal of telemetry last night before the balloon went over his horizon. Sunset was clearly visible in the data, as the internal temperature plummeted and the frequency of the transmitter drifted downward. The temperatures copied by Tom ranged from -9C at 2138z, down to -41C at 2322z.
The last two strings that he copied (at 2314z and 2322z) seemed to show the temperature leveling off at around -40C, which would indicate a float about 2km lower than the designed float altitude. If this is indeed the case, then we could have some problems - 2km lower means that we will run into a good deal more moisture on our northern voyage and possibly pick up ice. Just a bit lower yet - at around 7.5km in altitude - the entire trajectory changes and the balloon ends up floating aimlessly in the doldrums.
On the other hand, Pierre, KA2QPG, the designer of the beacon and my cohort in this endeavour, points out that the beacon itself gives off about 100mW of heat and could be skewing the internal temperature a bit. If so, then we could still be at 9-10km and heading in the right direction. We'll see.
At around 1800z today, *if* the balloon is on the right trajectory, it should be passing Newfoundland at about two hundred miles off the east coast. I've alerted some amateur radio ops in NL and they will be listening!
The last two strings that he copied (at 2314z and 2322z) seemed to show the temperature leveling off at around -40C, which would indicate a float about 2km lower than the designed float altitude. If this is indeed the case, then we could have some problems - 2km lower means that we will run into a good deal more moisture on our northern voyage and possibly pick up ice. Just a bit lower yet - at around 7.5km in altitude - the entire trajectory changes and the balloon ends up floating aimlessly in the doldrums.
On the other hand, Pierre, KA2QPG, the designer of the beacon and my cohort in this endeavour, points out that the beacon itself gives off about 100mW of heat and could be skewing the internal temperature a bit. If so, then we could still be at 9-10km and heading in the right direction. We'll see.
At around 1800z today, *if* the balloon is on the right trajectory, it should be passing Newfoundland at about two hundred miles off the east coast. I've alerted some amateur radio ops in NL and they will be listening!
Friday, March 21, 2008
SDG-9 Update
Bob Bruninga has lost the signal as of 1753 EDT. Tom, WB2YDS, reported copying the signal at 1738 EDT on Long Island. Still analyzing the data from both - if you have any further data, please send it our way!
Below is a link to a short YouTube video of the balloon and payload shortly after launch. Sorry, no better pics or video of the actual launch are extant (my 12 year old son and I were a little busy with the launch itself - I pulled the camera out of my pocket as soon as I could!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En_4zDPcJds
Below is a link to a short YouTube video of the balloon and payload shortly after launch. Sorry, no better pics or video of the actual launch are extant (my 12 year old son and I were a little busy with the launch itself - I pulled the camera out of my pocket as soon as I could!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En_4zDPcJds
Monday, September 10, 2007
SDG-7 recovery map
Here is a small map showing the approximate location of "splash down" in Lake St. Clair and then where the payload was recovered on the shores of Lake Erie.
Friday, September 7, 2007
SDG-7 recovery details
Here is an excerpt from an email that I received from Celeste Rimac, the finder of our SDG-7 payload, earlier today:
"Your box was recovered on Belleview Beach, at the east end, right next to Morgans Point in Wainfleet Ontario. Morgans Point is just a couple of miles west of the Welland Canal and Port Colborne Ontario."
She went on to say,
"I live here year round so I see all kinds of flotsam and jetsom washed up on the shore but this is by far the most interesting item yet. Wainfleet is a tiny rural farming community that happens to border on Lake Erie so there is a large cottage population as well. There are only a handful of houses on this beach that are year-round residential; it's amazing that box was seen at all."
Celeste put the payload box back out on the shore and took the following picture to illustrate where it was found:
Now if you look at a map you might not think that Wainfleet, Ontario is all that far (at least for one of our balloons) from the Detroit area. But remember - this payload didn't FLY to Wainfleet, it FLOATED there! (See my earlier blog entries for details on this doomed mission.)
Our librarian here at the Academy has speculated that the balloon and payload were snagged on the bow of a freighter and carried most of the way there (after all, the beach above is very close to the canal that the freighters take on their way to Lake Ontario and the Seaway). I think this is a reasonable theory - I'm not sure how swift the currents are in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, but this seems an awfully long way to float in just a couple of weeks!
Celeste will be sending the payload back soon and we'll be testing it to see if it can fly again... Many, many thanks, Celeste, for finding it and contacting me today!
"Your box was recovered on Belleview Beach, at the east end, right next to Morgans Point in Wainfleet Ontario. Morgans Point is just a couple of miles west of the Welland Canal and Port Colborne Ontario."
She went on to say,
"I live here year round so I see all kinds of flotsam and jetsom washed up on the shore but this is by far the most interesting item yet. Wainfleet is a tiny rural farming community that happens to border on Lake Erie so there is a large cottage population as well. There are only a handful of houses on this beach that are year-round residential; it's amazing that box was seen at all."
Celeste put the payload box back out on the shore and took the following picture to illustrate where it was found:
Now if you look at a map you might not think that Wainfleet, Ontario is all that far (at least for one of our balloons) from the Detroit area. But remember - this payload didn't FLY to Wainfleet, it FLOATED there! (See my earlier blog entries for details on this doomed mission.)
Our librarian here at the Academy has speculated that the balloon and payload were snagged on the bow of a freighter and carried most of the way there (after all, the beach above is very close to the canal that the freighters take on their way to Lake Ontario and the Seaway). I think this is a reasonable theory - I'm not sure how swift the currents are in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, but this seems an awfully long way to float in just a couple of weeks!
Celeste will be sending the payload back soon and we'll be testing it to see if it can fly again... Many, many thanks, Celeste, for finding it and contacting me today!
Amazing SDG-7 payload recovery!
The payload of SDG-7 - our recent towed solar Montgolfiere which apparently plummeted into Lake St. Clair about 30 minutes after launch - has been found! That's good news, but not the amazing part...
It washed up on a beach this morning on the north shore of Lake Erie, not too far from Buffalo, NY... That means that the payload floated across Lake St. Clair, down the Detroit River, and then clear across Lake Erie - where it was found intact!
I don't have any more details at this time - I received a voicemail a short time ago and have not yet spoken with the woman who found it.
Perhaps I should start making APRS buoys instead of balloons!
It washed up on a beach this morning on the north shore of Lake Erie, not too far from Buffalo, NY... That means that the payload floated across Lake St. Clair, down the Detroit River, and then clear across Lake Erie - where it was found intact!
I don't have any more details at this time - I received a voicemail a short time ago and have not yet spoken with the woman who found it.
Perhaps I should start making APRS buoys instead of balloons!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Soli Deo Gloria 7 - a towed solar Montgolfiere mission
This morning we launched Soli Deo Gloria 7, a towed solar Montgolfiere, from my suburban backyard. This flight ended suddenly over Lake St. Clair, with the last data being transmitted at an altitude of approximately 22,000 feet. The flight was intended to last all day - the latex balloon should have reached a peak altitude of about 90,000 feet before burst and then the solar Montgolfiere should have ram-inflated during descent, eventually reaching a stable float at around 70,000 feet.
Unfortunately, I made a last minute change to the payload - replacing a 1.5 pound battery pack with one that weighed only a few ounces - and this made the solar Montgolfiere unstable. More specifically, the payload actually weighed less than the remains of the latex balloon after burst (which happened prematurely), so the solar Montgolfiere inverted and spiralled into the lake instead of inflating.
The launch was still fun, though - my son, Ryan, helped with all stages of the inflation and launch and took the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Cq6da2fvc
Unfortunately, I made a last minute change to the payload - replacing a 1.5 pound battery pack with one that weighed only a few ounces - and this made the solar Montgolfiere unstable. More specifically, the payload actually weighed less than the remains of the latex balloon after burst (which happened prematurely), so the solar Montgolfiere inverted and spiralled into the lake instead of inflating.
The launch was still fun, though - my son, Ryan, helped with all stages of the inflation and launch and took the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3Cq6da2fvc
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Pic of SDG-6 in flight
Special thanks to Larry Prelog for this photo of Soli Deo Gloria 6 shortly after launch. Larry also sent some pics of the inflation and these will be posted soon.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Update on SDG-6's overnight stay...
After looking more closely at the area where Soli Deo Gloria 6 came down early on Sunday morning (~3:30am EDT), I think it is likely that the payload did, indeed, come to rest on the ground.
What brought it down? Probably frost - a problem which also plagued Vin Lally's low altitude superpressure balloons back in the '60s and for which no solution was ever found.
The frost would have melted into dew by mid-morning and then, as it evaporated, the balloon would have been able to rise again. The much faster - and earlier - descent on Sunday evening was undoubtedly due to actual loss of gas through pinholes in the envelope. The flight was over by this point, frost or no frost.
What brought it down? Probably frost - a problem which also plagued Vin Lally's low altitude superpressure balloons back in the '60s and for which no solution was ever found.
The frost would have melted into dew by mid-morning and then, as it evaporated, the balloon would have been able to rise again. The much faster - and earlier - descent on Sunday evening was undoubtedly due to actual loss of gas through pinholes in the envelope. The flight was over by this point, frost or no frost.
SDG-6 Recovered!
SDG-6 has been recovered! This morning I spoke with the gentleman who found the balloon - Mr. Ryan Bryant, a Realtor from Cumberland County, Kentucky.
Mr. Bryant said that he saw the balloon caught on a powerline along Highway 61 North in Cumberland County last night at around 7:30pm Central Time. This was a very fortunate event, since the area is otherwise quite remote.
After he cut the payload line, Mr. Bryant said that the balloon envelope took off into the sky - so its flight wasn't yet over! (Having been relieved of the payload, the envelope would have developed a very high superpressure at altitude and most likely burst within 10-15 minutes of leaving the powerline, so it's probably not too far away.)
The payload is now safe and will be on its way back to Michigan sometime soon... Our thanks go out to Mr. Bryant for a wonderful end to a wonderful flight!
Mr. Bryant said that he saw the balloon caught on a powerline along Highway 61 North in Cumberland County last night at around 7:30pm Central Time. This was a very fortunate event, since the area is otherwise quite remote.
After he cut the payload line, Mr. Bryant said that the balloon envelope took off into the sky - so its flight wasn't yet over! (Having been relieved of the payload, the envelope would have developed a very high superpressure at altitude and most likely burst within 10-15 minutes of leaving the powerline, so it's probably not too far away.)
The payload is now safe and will be on its way back to Michigan sometime soon... Our thanks go out to Mr. Bryant for a wonderful end to a wonderful flight!
One last bit of flight info... The calculated great-circle distance from the first to last received APRS data points is 298 miles, for an average speed of about nine miles per hour over the total flight time of 32h 26m.
(Note that I used the great-circle calculator at http://williams.best.vwh.net/gccalc.htm.)
(Note that I used the great-circle calculator at http://williams.best.vwh.net/gccalc.htm.)
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.
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.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
It looks like SDG-6 came down around 7:30pm tonight and - I think - it has been retrieved by someone!
I say this because around 8:20pm I received a cell phone call (which I could not take at the time - I was in the middle of the American Idol concert in Detroit) which appears to be from Cumberland County, Kentucky. While no message was left on my voicemail, this is very close (within a few miles) to where the last packet from the balloon originated - and my cell phone number was on the outside of the payload.
I will call the number back in the morning and then continue the story here.... This has been an amazing flight - over 32 hours in duration - and I have a feeling that the recovery story will be equally amazing!
I say this because around 8:20pm I received a cell phone call (which I could not take at the time - I was in the middle of the American Idol concert in Detroit) which appears to be from Cumberland County, Kentucky. While no message was left on my voicemail, this is very close (within a few miles) to where the last packet from the balloon originated - and my cell phone number was on the outside of the payload.
I will call the number back in the morning and then continue the story here.... This has been an amazing flight - over 32 hours in duration - and I have a feeling that the recovery story will be equally amazing!
A very strange flight, this is! About 45 minutes ago, I came down to the computer to see the most recent data from Soli Deo Gloria 6. I was fully expecting that it would be on the ground and, indeed, the last APRS packet received was at about 1100 feet somewhere in Kentucky - and about eight hours old.
It's worth adding at this point that the HYSPLIT model - when set to include vertical winds into the calculation - showed a slow descent to around 1000 feet throughout the night. This contrasts with the isobaric model and, frankly, what I expected. Yet it seems to mirror reality.
Okay, back to the situation... A few minutes later, I click on "Raw APRS data" in Findu to see what happened after I went to bed around midnight. As I scroll down, the last received packet jumps off the screen at me - the balloon is again at altitude!
As of right now, it is flying - either "again" (reascent, which is extremely unlikely) or "still" (I think that it was probably floating very close to the ground, perhaps in a small valley which kept it contained all night).
Anyone who has seen the very fragile payload providing the tracking (Microtrak 300 and Digitraveler GPS - out of the case - just stuck inside of a Tyvek mailing envelope!) knows that there is no way the payload could have been stuck in a tree or anything else and somehow come free this morning (that is, and still work!).
So it's in the air, over 24 hours after launch. Where will it go? I don't know. How long will it fly? Anyone's guess - the answer to this partially depends on WHY it came down last night (was it simply the vertical wind profile, as the HYSPLIT model suggests, or did it lose enough gas to come down yet, somehow, magically keep just enough to reascend upon solar heating?).
I'll be away for most of the day, so it might be a while before there are any more updates - if you have more information about the flight, feel free to post it as a comment!
It's worth adding at this point that the HYSPLIT model - when set to include vertical winds into the calculation - showed a slow descent to around 1000 feet throughout the night. This contrasts with the isobaric model and, frankly, what I expected. Yet it seems to mirror reality.
Okay, back to the situation... A few minutes later, I click on "Raw APRS data" in Findu to see what happened after I went to bed around midnight. As I scroll down, the last received packet jumps off the screen at me - the balloon is again at altitude!
As of right now, it is flying - either "again" (reascent, which is extremely unlikely) or "still" (I think that it was probably floating very close to the ground, perhaps in a small valley which kept it contained all night).
Anyone who has seen the very fragile payload providing the tracking (Microtrak 300 and Digitraveler GPS - out of the case - just stuck inside of a Tyvek mailing envelope!) knows that there is no way the payload could have been stuck in a tree or anything else and somehow come free this morning (that is, and still work!).
So it's in the air, over 24 hours after launch. Where will it go? I don't know. How long will it fly? Anyone's guess - the answer to this partially depends on WHY it came down last night (was it simply the vertical wind profile, as the HYSPLIT model suggests, or did it lose enough gas to come down yet, somehow, magically keep just enough to reascend upon solar heating?).
I'll be away for most of the day, so it might be a while before there are any more updates - if you have more information about the flight, feel free to post it as a comment!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
As of 11:45pm EDT tonight, Soli Deo Gloria 6 is still aloft and maintaining a fairly steady float altitude. It has recently crossed from Ohio into Kentucky, still heading south at a leisurely pace of about 10 miles per hour.
We expect the altitude to continue to drop overnight but the flight should continue into tomorrow.
We expect the altitude to continue to drop overnight but the flight should continue into tomorrow.
Soli Deo Gloria 6 - our sixth superpressure balloon - was launched today near Findlay, Ohio, during Bill Brown's celebration of 20 years of amateur high altitude ballooning.
The balloon is currently floating at about 7000 feet and lazily heading south. It has passed the first milestone of achieving stable float - next will be surviving peak downward solar flux in about an hour. The final milestone today - if the flight continues - will be stable float beyond sunset.
Here are a couple of links for tracking the balloon while it's aloft:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kc8uch-11
http://db.aprsworld.net/datamart/switch.php?call=kc8uch-11&maps=yes
More details will be posted later.
The balloon is currently floating at about 7000 feet and lazily heading south. It has passed the first milestone of achieving stable float - next will be surviving peak downward solar flux in about an hour. The final milestone today - if the flight continues - will be stable float beyond sunset.
Here are a couple of links for tracking the balloon while it's aloft:
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=kc8uch-11
http://db.aprsworld.net/datamart/switch.php?call=kc8uch-11&maps=yes
More details will be posted later.
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