Mission: L04
Summary:
Our third test flight was a short launch to give our affiliates from
Concordia College a chance to participate in a mission as well
as test their payload box, which included a camera for taking pictures and a data logger. Aside from
a small problem with one of our lines getting tangled, the mission went very well. The spacecraft
flew up to 15,000 ft where the altitude successfully activated. Due to some good predictions of the
landing zone and some great recovery vehicle driving and directing, the command module and payload
landed within feet of the recovery van. The video file below captures this great moment.
Flight Information:
Date: | October 25, 2003 |
Launch Site: | Blooming Prairie High School :: Map :: Web Page |
Launch Coordinates: | Latitude: 43.867 N, Longitude: 93.065 W, Altitude: 1290 feet |
Launch Time: | 7:41 AM |
Balloon: | 1000 gram Kaysam Balloon |
Ascent Rate: | 1250 feet/min |
Descent Rate: | 1150 feet/min |
Stack Weight: | 11.8 pounds (includes 6lb command module, 1.3lb payload, parachute, and harness) |
Total Lift: | 15.5 pounds |
Free Lift: | 4 pounds |
Maximum Altitude: | 15009 feet |
Landing Time: | 8:02 AM |
Recovery Time: | 8:02 AM |
Landing Coordinates: | Latitude: 43.849 N, Longitude: 92.825 W, Altitude: 1325 feet |
Personnel:
Mission Manager: | Greg Nelson |
Launch Director: | Kevin Sweeney |
Flight Director: | Kevin Sweeney |
Recovery Director: | Chris Sanden |
Launch Team: | Andrew Feit, Jennifer Halsted, Chris Sanden, Matthew Stegmeir |
Recovery Team: | Andrew Feit, Jennifer Halsted, Chris Sanden, Matthew Stegmeir |
Payload Team: | William Duppler, Paul Seifert |
Lessons learned:
- While raising the balloon, one of the stack lines became very tangled. A new system for storing the stack lines needs to be devised to prevent this from happening.
Flight Data:
Pictures:
Videos:
Video taken by Jennifer Halsted and edited by Kevin Sweeney
Two versions of the video are offered. The WMV file requires the Windows Media Player 9 codec, which
can be obtained from our web page for either
WMP 7.0
or greater or for
WMP 6.4. These codecs
can also be obtained directly from
Microsoft's Web Site. The MPEG file is offered as an alternative
for those who cannot install the codec or are using an operating system other then Windows. The
quality of the MPEG is much lower in order to keep the file size small.
The video is 7:53 minutes in length and shows some highlights of the L04 mission. Due to the dark conditions during the
setup, this video just shows the launch and recovery.
Web site maintained by
Adam Thoreen
Last updated: August 26, 2004