End of Semester News

The past few weeks have been very exciting for Project Airborne. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our launch two weeks in a row due to the poor weather conditions. Here is a rundown of what has happened since the last update:

1. The FAA gave us approval for launch in Clearfield, PA. We chose Clearfield as a launch point since the package was project to land in a sparsely populated area of Pennsylvania.
2. The Penn State Office of Risk Management worked closely with us to minimize risk of harm to people and property during the flight. They gave us approval for launch after the FAA gave us permission.
3. By the time we finally got permission from the FAA and the PSU Office of Risk Management, we had to reschedule the launch for April 25, 2010 (the Sunday following the Blue & White football game). Unfortunately, the weather ended up being unsuitable for launch so we canceled the launch.
4. The group decided to attempt the launch in the early party of the Fall 2010 semester during an away-football game weekend or a weekend without a football game. Because of this, we will need to resubmit paperwork with the FAA and the Penn State Office of Risk Management to get approval for the new launch date.

Project Airborne Runs Into Some Roadblocks

As of right now, we’re postponing the launch of Project Airborne to April 25th.  This is due to the poor weather conditions expected for our original launch date of April 17th.  Additionally, we’re working with the Penn State Office of Risk Management and the Federal Aviation Administration to get permission for launching.

Team Project Airborne is still working hard to identify and secure an alternate launching location so that the balloon will land in a less densely-populated area. Below you can see a few of the project launch and touchdown locations.  All of which are in less populated areas in southern PA and northern MD.

Additional updates will be furnished once we get approval from the FAA and the Penn State Office of Risk Management. Stay tuned!

Tethered Test

The Project Airborne Team met at 9:00 on Saturday, April 10th in the IST Building to begin preparations for the tethered test.  We assembled the package in a classroom and then moved all of the project materials and team members up to the Penn State Arboretum.

After a little bit of a delay caused by a leaky valve on our helium tank, we were able to begin filling the balloon. It took a few attempts of filling the balloon before it reached positive buoyancy and was able to lift the package containing two cameras and ballast.

The video below shows the process and the results of our effort. It’s a little blurry but please enjoy!

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.
• 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).

Help Project Airborne!

Our team entered a partnership with the IST Alumni Society last week in order to help track and retrieve the package. We asked interested members of the IST Alumni Society to provide their name, location and contact information so if the package landed anywhere near them, we could establish contact.

If you are interested in being part of the network, please fill out THIS FORM so we can get into contact with you if necessary. Project Airborne will be supplying interested individuals with a means to track the progress of the package as it ascends and descends.

Updates Galore!

It has been quite a while since our last update but it has been an exciting past few weeks for Project Airborne. The team has been busy assembling the last few materials needed for the package and squaring away final logistical issues. Here’s a rundown of our progress:

1. We got permission from the College of IST to coordinate retrieval of the package from the Extreme Events Laboratory. This high tech lab will allow us to leverage several technologies to track the package as it ascends/descends and to track and guide the retrieval team on the ground.
2. We chose a location for our tethered test on April 10th. We’re assembling the package in the IST Building and then moving up to the tailgating and IM fields by the Services Road.
3. Our team is in contact with the FAA to inform them about our launch.
4. The IST Alumni Society is allowing us to leverage their network to help track and retrieve the package.

We still have a few things left to do for the project before launchday:

1. Contact local Police about the project.
2. Contact local media (TV, Radio, Newspaper, Blogs) to get the word out about the project.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Project Airborne Progression in 2010

With the spring semester well under way, we have been working to get Project Airborne on track for an April launch.  Of the two meetings that have been held so far, the project responsibilities have been distributed among 4 teams.

• Logistics
• Test
• Media
• Tracking

The logistics team will be responsible for determining the launch day and location, coordinating the tracking team, as well as predicting the landing site.  The test team will be responsible for designing and creating the package itself along with the parachute design and contrsuction to ensure a safe landing.  The media team will be responsible for interfacing with the Collegian and Centre Time Daily and the State and local police.  The media team will also handle updating the Project Airborne website with meeting summaries and pictures/video of the project progress.  The tracking team will be responsible for tracking the package through its flight and its landing.  This will be done using a GPS enabled cellphone.