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HacDC Spaceblimp 5

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Spaceblimp-5 Planned Launch: July 9, 2011


Summary

HacDC Spaceblimp 5 is set up for launch on Saturday morning 10am, nominal.

This time we're going for altitude. By using a larger balloon, hopefully it will burst at a higher altitude, 120k feet predicted.

The payload includes a video camera, a still camera running custom firmware to hopefully get better exposures from space, and a lot of instrumentation: (list here)


Come join us for the launch, at ____.

Or follow along at home! There are two radios on board the blimp that transmit out the GPS data.

The primary is tied to the GPS and transmits out to a network of amateur radio people who then pass the location information on to get mapped here: APRS.fi and run through some custom software to a Twitter account which you can follow on your phone: DC Spaceblimp Primary Twitter Feed. (Click the link in the Twitter to pull up a map!)

The secondary radio is actually a modified cell phone, and will broadcast its data when in range of a cell tower. You can follow that Twitter feed through Society Of Robots Twitter Feed.

Launch Plans

Planned launch date: Saturday, July 9, 2011
Launch time: 10:00 AM, Launch should take less than an hour.
Launch Location:
Where: I-70/81 corridor between Edinburg, VA & Breezewood, PA
Coordination/Talk-in: 146.685 MHz simplex (this might change, please monitor Twitter (@HacDCSpaceblimp) and mailing list for updates.
Planned Altitude: 120,000 Feet
Planned Ascent Rate: 1,000 feet/minute
Planned Descent Rate: 1,000 feet/minute
Primary Beacon: Son-of-WhereAVR with ublox GPS. Yaesu VX-1 handi-talkie with 1 W Transmitter, call sign W3HAC-11 (map), Frequency 144.390 MHz
Secondary Beacon: GSM mobile phone modue, uBlox GPS
Payload: 9 DOF IMU, Geiger counter, temperature, pressure, humidity, and light sensors
HacDC Spaceblimp Project:
Main Page Press Page First Launch (Found) Second Launch (Successful)
Third Launch (Successful) Fourth Launch (Successful) Fifth Launch (3% short of goal) Sixth Launch (Successful) Seventh Launch (Successful)


HacDC Spaceblimp Team Contact Info:
[email protected]
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