In Case You Missed It

G.I. Joe sent to space

Included two temperature sensors (payload and ambient) on this launch. Hint: It gets really cold.

NSP Flight 4: Video Posted

Enjoy!

NSP Flight 4 Video

NSP Flight 4: Unprecedented and Unpredictable

NSP in its fourth flight reached an incredible and unexpected altitude of 145,462ft AGL or 146,962ft ASL this past Monday the 23rd of January! For this launch we used an 800g weather balloon spec'd for roughly 92,000ft and maintained all other aspects of the payload according to Flight 3.

Flight/Trajectory predictions for this launch were calculated based on a maximum altitude of 100,000ft which itself was quite optimistic. Ascent rate data from the flight computer suggests that the balloon was significantly under-inflated. Flight 3 achieved an average ascent rate of 1245 ft/min to apogee of ~75kft, whereas Flight 4 averaged 1033 ft/min up to 75kft. The large error in the predicted apogee can be attributed to the extra volume given for expansion.

Touchdown occurred at T+2.5 hours in an abandoned oil field near Taft, CA about 84 miles downrange of the launch site. Photos after the jump..

Flight 3: Video Recap on Youtube

Sorry for the delay. The NSP flight #3 video is now uploaded. The recap shows the payload at takeoff, 20kft,40kft,60ft,apogee and landing. Apogee and recovery system development occurs at 2:52 in the video.

Flight 3 Video

Flight 3: Officially 75,560ft

The Near Space Photographer officially broke its old record ascending to 75,560ft even with a payload increase of nearly 1lb!

The central valley had completely clear skies allowing the NSP to see roughly 200 miles of coastline in a single frame. Appearing to be clouds is Sierra Neveda range in the east.

Video to come shortly but for now a few frames from the HD camera . Photos after the jump..

Flight 3 to launch later today

The Near Space Photographer is launching today! Follow this link to track the flight in real time. Tracking will begin around 12pm and launch to occur about 1pm. You can tell when its in the air.Click here for real-time tracking or copy this link into the address bar http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0W5ZoRzxNnLHBYhqSi5lvtQWdHHK6e7qH

The payload for this flight:

-GPS
-HD Camera (1080p)
-micro camera
-on-board computer

I'm expecting to have some great footage with the new camera. Stay tuned...

Flight 2 Results

Flight #2 of the Near Space Photographer (NSP) was a success! The goal of this test was to prove the flight readiness of the on-board computer and modifications to the recovery system to improve reliability. Recorded apogee at 27,669ft. Total flight time of 52 minutes.

Below are a few snapshots from the full length video. Video to come soon. Photos after the jump..