Project Timeline
4/14/2012 (Lessons Learned Discussion)
Results of the discussion can be viewed here.
4/04/2012 (Launch Day)
- Launched balloon at 7:17 am from Cuyamaca College, El Cajon, CA
- Filling the balloon went much faster than expected, took about 30 minutes
- Balloon went to approximately 85,000 ft
- Accent rate was 1300 ft/min
- Descent rate was 1250 ft/min
- Flight time was 125 minutes
- Total distance travelled 72.09 miles
- Recovered capsule at 2:03 pm just east of Westmoreland, CA
4/03/2012 (Launch Window Open)
- Launching today would have sent the balloon to Mexico again.
- Wednesday, 04/04/2012 still looks good
4/02/2012 (Launch Window Open)
- NO GO for launch, flight models show balloon going south into Mexico
- Everyone participated in a balloon filling & launch drill
- Olivia made a contact information placard for the side of the capsule
- JP attached Cuyamaca College stickers to the capsule
- Philip ran two simulated test flights on micro-controller, both ran well
4/01/2012 (1 day remaining)
- Jacob and Philip are working out micro-controller bugs
- Brendon ran an updated model with new burst altitude computed by JP
- Sign and submit your waiver by 10:00pm tonight. If not submitted tonight, you are not authorized to attend the launch or recovery tomorrow.
3/31/2012 (2 days remaining)
- Diego, Kevin, and JP made balloon filling tool out of a PVC pipe
- Olivia completed parachute weight reduction mod. (WAS: 2.207lbs NOW: 0.860lbs)
- Olivia, Josh, Brendon, and JP connected new parachute rigging
- Determined final capsule weight of 3.241 lbs
- Developed Pre-fill and Pre-flight check off lists
- Discussed balloon filling, launch, and capsule recovery plan
- Signed waivers. If you do not sign and submit a waiver by Sunday at 10:00pm you can not attend the launch or recovery effort.
03/30/2012 (3 days remaining)
- Jeremy Bates installed components and applied a sealing agent to the capsule
- Brendon ran flight models, prevailing winds sent balloon to Mexico at each location
- Jacob continued to build up the micro-controller
- Josh ran simulated flight on cell phone
- Josh bought lithium AA batteries for micro-controller
- Josh researches gloves for handing the balloon
03/29/2012 (4 days remaining)
- Olivia picked up the helium
- Josh bought string to connect capsule, parachute, and balloon
- Philip and Jacob built the micro-controller
- Brendon is developing the plan for capsule recovery
03/28/2012 (5 days remaining)
- Sim card arrived one day early via USPS Priority Mail
- Josh setup Motorola I290 with Boost Mobile and InstaMapper app installed
03/27/2012 (6 days remaining)
- Brendon ran flight models. Launch today would go into Salton Sea.
03/26/3012 (7 days remaining)
- Purchased Motorola I290 SIM card online, will arrive 3/29/12 at the latest
03/25/2012 (8 days remaining)
- Particle Collector experiment will not be onboard the capsule
- Jeremy Mitchell joined us half-way through the build. He made a great effort, but there was simply not enough time to build and test the design
- Jeremy Mitchell has been very sick this past week, so please wish him well
03/24/2012 (9 days remaining)
- Philip and Jacob designed the micro-controller this morning
- Olivia passed out the first round of reimbursement checks today
- Reporter recorded the meeting for the club and project feature piece
- External antenna purchase scrapped, it would be waist of money and weight
- Club voted and passed unanimously to purchase helium for Near Space Balloon
- Search and Recovery (SAR) team created, Brendon appointed team leader
03/23/2012 (10 days remaining)
- Philip successfully connected strobe light to micro-controller
- Emilio contacted West Air Gases to discuss helium purchase options
- Josh researched cell phone external antenna options
- Jeremy Bates realized painting the capsule black will help keep electronics warm due to the sun's heat being absorbed by black instead of reflected by white capsule color.
03/17/2012 (15 days remaining)
More Pictures >>
- Surfboard capsule shaped.
03/16/2012 (16 days remaining)
MEETING TOMORROW CANCELLED
- Guest Speaker called to cancel
- Tomorrow is SDSU's Open House from 9am - 2pm, Engineering Labs open to public
- Midterms next week
03/10/2012 (22 days remaining)
- Diego and Philip Used 3D printer to fabricate some parts for particle collector
- Club voted to purchase materials to create capsule in form of surfboard
- Olivia's parachute modifications removed .701 lbs, new weight is 1.523lbs
- Reporter wants to do a feature story on the club and project
03/07/2012 (25 days remaining)
- Local television station, KUSI, is interested in our project. More details soon.
- Motorola I290 (GPS phone) and external battery pack are on hand.
- The particle collector design is nearly complete. The design team is still determining how to seal the collector cells. The particle collector build will begin shortly.
03/03/2012 (29 days remaining)
- Strobe Light on hand
- Particle Collector design finalized, build begins this week
- Motorola I290 (GPS Phone) and Duracell Battery Pack purchased
- Olivia will be modifying the parachute to reduce the weight currently at 2.307 lbs., parachute has heavily re-enforced seams and nylon cords, which must be removed. Projected weight reduction estimate is 1.000 lbs
02/18/2011
- Jeremy Bates presented the idea of shaping the capsule to any design
12/18/2011 - 01/??/2012 (Winter Break)
12/17/2011
- Jon Torre agreed to donate his still motion camera (Casio QV-R52) to the club
12/16/2011
- Parachute on hand
- Discussed balloon mission and parts list
- Boris agreed to acquisition the weather balloon
- Philip agreed to acquisition the pressure sensor
- Josh agreed to acquisition the FlipMinoHD
