Flight #2000-7 ""
Launch Date: September 17.
September 25, 2000
Thanks to Blaise and Ryan, we now have digitized clips from the
on-board camcorder recording of the flight! For the moment,
all files are available as either RealPlayer or AVI. The AVI
files are huge (over 40M each), so use the RealPlayer ones if
at all possible.
Note: the time counter on the upper-right part of the screen got goofed up
when the tape was ejected then reinserted in the camcorder after recovery.
The housing the camcorder sat in was made from foam wrapped in gaffers tape. The
tape forms the 'porthole' the view is visible through.
Fog, then frost forms on the lower-left part of the lens during the ascent. This
frost sublimates off at 80K+ altitude.
The wild ride you see the gondola taking at 60K - 70K feet is when the balloon was
leaving the top of the jetstream.
September 20, 2000
Here's a report from Charlie, KI0LS, our head electronics guru:
My estimates of video and balloon altitude:
Balloon cut down timer turned on 9:20 AM September 17, 2000.
Balloon video camera turned on 9:22 AM
Balloon launch (1,084 ft) 9:24 AM
Video tape ends (1hr, 06min) 10:28 AM
Balloon at 105,307 ft (GPS) 10:39 AM
Balloon cut away (81 min) 10:41 AM
Balloon visual burst 10:44 AM
Balloon LOS at 3,419 ft 11:08 AM
Balloon recovery approx. 11:30 AM September 17, 2000
Balloon average accent rate; (105307 - 1084)ft / 75 min = 1,390 ft/min
Estimated altitude at end of video = 105307 - ( 1390 * 11) = 90,017 ft
Estimated cut away altitude = 105307 + (1390 * 2) = 108,087 ft
Estimated balloon burst altitude = 105307 + (1390 * 5) = 112,257 ft
Ground naked eye observations reported a definite acceleration impression
when payload was cut away, the burst altitude may be a couple of thousand
feet higher than above estimate.
Gondola and parachute wt 13lbs
Balloon lift 21 lbs absolute or 21 - 13 = 8 lbs net
Parachute performance (11191ft - 3960ft)/4min = 1806 ft /min (20 mph)
Damage report:
Geiger Counter ?
Film camera failed before landing at approximately 10 photos taken
Video camcorder battery exhausted 13 minutes prior to cut away
Video camcorder view finder damaged due to impact.
The octagon gondola is showing cracks but is still flyable
Stamp OK
GPS OK
Alinco 2 meter radio OK
Alinco 440 radio and Radio Shack repeater status unknown pending reception
reports
Cut Away servo needs repair or replacement of broken wires and plastic
release arm.
73s Charlie
Recovery Crew
September 18, 2000
Success! Flight 2000-7 lifted off from 'Nemo's farm at 9:27 am,
September 17. The GPS failed to lock on to the satellites and no GPS
location data was available to the chasers during the first half of the
flight. Luckily, the unit did lock on and the chasers quickly positioned
themselves for a quick recovery after descent.
The Geiger counter, despite Blaise and I trouble-shooting it until
10:30 pm the night before, decided not to work and took no data from the
entire flight. The on-board 8mm camcorder, however, did function
properly and recorded 65 minutes of flight time from launch to about
75,000 feet. We learned a great deal about the dynamics the balloon and
payload go through during the ascent phase of a flight from the tape,
and the video images from altitude were spectacular. The only
dissapointment was when the camcorder battery ran out about 20 minutes
before cutdown and descent. We are looking into connecting the camcorder
into the main power system for the next flight.
So, despite this being our 13th flight (and first with a 13 pound
payload), bad luck mostly stayed away and everything except the
Geiger counter worked well.
September 8, 2000
We are planning a flight for Sunday, September 17. Launch will be from
Nemo's farm. We will be flying our octagonal payload from the last
flight (hopfully the Geiger counter will be fixed), lofted by a 3kg
balloon.
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