Project Airborne Dates
We solidified dates for testing and launch this past week. Here are some details:
Our final testing phase will occur on Saturday, April 9th beginning at 9:00 am. We’ll be constructing the package and heading up to the IM fields to test the effectiveness of the parachute and design.
Our launch date is set for Saturday, April 17th. Here is the full plan:
- 9:00am – Arrive at launch site, TBD…
- 9:15am – begin filling weather balloon with helium
- 9:45-10:00am – release balloon and package
- 10:00-10:15am – Group 1 (and maybe 2) leave for Harrisburg
- Logistics team sets up in the Extreme Events Lab to track the balloon who will:
- Track package location with GPS technology
- Compare location to IST Alumni Network contacts
- Locate location on map relay driving direction to retrieval team
- Relay other information to the Retrieval Team who are on the road.
- Logistics team sets up in the Extreme Events Lab to track the balloon who will:
- 12:30pm – Balloon pops and begins descent
- 2:00pm – Package hopefully lands
- 5:00pm – Package returned to Penn State/celebrate
If you are interested in covering Project Airborne on launch day, please contact Steve Sharer (sjs5196@psu.edu).
Categories: Updates
