"We're launching tomorrow morning' says Ed.
"Shame I can't make it, I have to be at work" says I.
"At 3 am" says Ed
"Hmmm" says I

Long story short - hopefully a reflight of the HAPS1 A560 tomorrow - at dawn - with recovery in time for me to get back to Leicester in time for work. Ed will fill you in on the rest of the payload. He's an engineer - I'm just a temperamental artist.

Obviously - anyone with half a brain will be fast asleep, so may not be any/many live updates. Possibly live tracking, maybe uStream while we're setting up.

The real problem is the toxicology involved in staying up all night with caffeine based beverages.


(For people just finding this thread...

Movies from the Nova 8 camera

http://vimeo.com/1628664 Ascent Part 1
http://vimeo.com/1628493 Ascent Part 2
http://vimeo.com/1628497 Ascent Part 3
http://vimeo.com/1628414 Descent


Movies from the HAPS-D camera

http://vimeo.com/1628947 Ascent Part 1
http://vimeo.com/1628809 Ascent Part 2
http://vimeo.com/1628810 Ascent Part 3
http://vimeo.com/1626812 Descent


http://vimeo.com/1628991 All of the still images at 6fps from the HAPS-D camera
http://vimeo.com/1629086 All of the still images at 6fps from the Nova 8 camera
Download the MOV from bottom right on these - and you can essentially scrub your way thru all the images at quite a reasonable resolution.

Ohh sunrise images - very cool!

The thought had crossed my mind about how cool dawn images would be. Great to see an attempt going ahead.

Just think you're working on a 24hxx minutes day-sol (or whatever) and you'll be fine

A few details -

The payload is based around a big polystyrene (styrofoam) box, with various layers of space blanket to keep everything inside warm(ish). The payload has been built in the last couple of days built by everyone except me - I have a summer job (ExoMars EDLS with Vorticity Systems - I'm so glad I picked engineering as a career!) whereas the other guys have managed to stay in Cambridge over the summer to work on stuff fulltime.

We'll be flying 4 cameras in total - 2 'premiers' (£5 ebay specials) which we've used since the beginning because they're dirt cheap, but a bit rubbish. However cheapness > quality after we enthusiastically bought expensive cameras once (to return to Jessops after the flight) only to have a pyrotechnic cutdown fail, and so they went somewhere into the North Sea. The Premiers will be on 'sponsor' duties - http://spacefellowship.com/News/?p=6152

We then have the HAPS A560 and our own one. These won't have sponsor logos in the way. Our one will be horizontally mounted and will have a UV filter, Doug is (I think?) mounting his in portrait with a 10 degree downward slope - as he and James Canvin discussed to optimise stitching.

The avionics comes from the 'Badger Board' that Fergus and I designed - http://flickr.com/photos/25036435@N00/2501...in/photostream/ and http://flickr.com/photos/25036435@N00/2501...in/photostream/

It's an ARM-based microcontroller, with gps, gsm, radio, some sensors (including 3 axis accelerometer, though I can't guarantee we'll have that for tomorrow, but if we do, we'll of course put the data files up), general io to activate cameras and pyro-links and so on.

The all-up weight of the payload will be about 1kg. It'll be hoisted by a 1.5 kg balloon - the balloons are named according to the weight of the latex they're made from. It's a larger balloon than was used on HAPS-1, so it might get a little higher. Our altitude record is 33.281km for reference (not that the gps is good enough for 1m accuracy in altitude). Parachute will be whatever is lying around. I'm about to start construction of a ring-slot parachute, but it's going to be a bit of a pig to make with just mum's sewing machine, and it's sized for the new payload system we're building, so we will probably still have the cork-screwing on the way down that we saw with HAPS-1.

Based on the GFS forecast, we're looking at a flight profile that is roughly like this (open in Google earth): http://www.cuspaceflight.co.uk/nova8_prediction.kml Though that assumes a higher drag descent than will be the case, so the drift during descent should be lower. Note - constant ascent rate. Once we punch through the jetstream we pretty much go straight up.

With luck, you will be able to track it live from here - http://spacenear.us/tracker You'll see there a twitter box for random updates from us in the run-up, and an embedded irc applet. It points to #highaltitude99 on FreeNode (if you prefer your own client), and it will have a bot in it which prints the raw telemetry string every 10 seconds. That just gives the basics - lat long alt, time since last reset, number of gps sats etc. That's what we use to track it down. the room #highaltitude is the main room for general ballooney chit-chat. If you want to have a go at this yourself, that's the place! There's also a uStream live webcam which Doug will sort out I think - it'll probably just be us preparing in the college Bar. If we're in wireless range outside, we'll try and get launch too, though it'll be dark.

The radio is 10mW 434Mhz. 'Why only 1/3rd the power of an LED?', you ask. Well, we are legally limited to that by Ofcom. They are a bit jumpy. That said, we have tracked stuff well out to the North Sea (that fatefull second mission) and it was several hundred kilometres away when we gave up listening and went to the pub. It was still receiving absolutely fine. So, it you're in the UK or Holland/Calais/anywhere around there and are of an amateur radio persuasion, you can listen in. Here are the details: 434.650Mhz, 50 baud, 425 Hz shift reversed ascii-7 RTTY. Callsign 'Badger' if I remember correctly. We can pick it up with a whip from at least 200km away, and if you have a yagi, the only limit will be Line of Site.

I think that's all the basics. Let's hope we get some pics of the sun creeping over the curvature of the earth!

Ed

EDIT: Forgot to say, the actual launch time will be calculated so that it first sees the sun at about 25km (sunrise is earlier up there than on the ground for a given lat/long, obviously).

Sshhh - I was going to just put a bit of black card over the camera for 20 minutes, then come back and say "Did you see it go? It was amazing!"

Pin-the-landing-on-the-google - this is my guess.

http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=5...mp;t=h&z=17

Doug

Well wouldn't you know it, I've finally managed to get a week off work this week, so no office for me tomorrow anyway I can't wait. Good luck to everyone on the team!

Godspeed! If this works it could provide awesome images of cloudtops casting long shadows into the distance and we'll have a bit of red color this time, too.

Sorry if my question is not relevant : will a mike be riding along with the camera ?
Anyway, I can see different pro to ride a mike :
1- listen what a sound is like at a martian pressure (actualy we'll have to generate some noise to know).
2- Once I staid for over 1.5 month at the Everest base camp (and heigher ) and I remember the sound (I should say noise) generated by the jet stream so I wonder what it sound like from "inside"

Good luck to you all.

Watch the video from HAPS-1 - plenty of audio all the way up and down. Just a shame it missed the BANG! of the balloon.

If a balloon bursts in the stratosphere and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

They don't. Even if you chuck a hole in one - they just go 'pleuh'

Doug

A sea level, yes.

But judging from all the bits flying around when the video starts just after, and the state of the remnants attached after landing surely it makes some kind of bang at altitude.

If a man says something in the stratosphere, and his wife is not around, is he still wrong?

Thanks James, I must have a bad setting somewhere since I had no sound with the videos... hence my question!

As I said this afternoon, I was able to listen to the jet stream during about 3 days and night. It was a very particular noise, very loud and on a low frequency, I didn't know we could actualy hear it and somebody who knew the place told me it was the jet stream. Anybody get an explanation?

Launch is set for 3.30AM. http://spacenear.us/tracker to see what's hapening.

New portrai mode + bit of down-pointing housing made. New script made. Just setting of for Cambridge now

Launch adjusted to 3.45, fill level (and corresponding ascent rate) slightly increased. It doesn't float.

Just arrived - putting uStream of preps going on line now.

Good luck! The last results were absolutely stunning. I just wish I wasn't as busy as I am at the moment and could share in the fun.

She's away - just broken thru 2km and rising. Launch was at about 0402

It's really great following along at http://spacenear.us/tracker/
but there was a moment after it passed 2000m where the altitude read 8m for a while.
Scared the hell out on me!!! Glad to see it's approaching 3000m now.

Past 5000m now and just drifted over Cambridge, about 30km to the NW of the release point.

Edit: Oops! Got the direction wrong. Drifting to the SE of from the release point in Cambridge.

Past 6000!

1, metres

Hey, should I be worried? This thing is hell bent for the Channel. At this rate it will get there by the time it reaches 30,000m. Is there some upper level wind to turn it around? Well, anyway, if it gets to the Channel it might as well go all the way to France. That's not a problem, is it?

It should be okay, once it gets above the jetstream it'll go straight up so that should help with the distance. Also the descent will be a lot quicker.

That said its a risk business flying balloons in the UK - never further then 70miles from the sea apparently...

James

http://www.pegasushabproject.org.uk

Going through 15000 m over Braintree...and it launched from Cambridge...don't know whether it's in the UK or Massachusetts!

At least, at 15,000m, it's turned to the south, away from the closest coast. This is as tension filled as a rocket launch, but in slow motion.

This is really a pleasant surprise, seeing the chase car show up on the map. I'm guessing that it's not on the move right now, but waiting to see what direction to head in?

Wow! A sharp hook to the North at 18,800m!
A 180 degree switch in direction in a minute or less!

What Th-- ! It went in a full circle, now headed South again, now West. Wacky!
(At 19,500m)

Edit: At 19,800m, headed North again. Looks like it's going up a spiral staircase!

2 , metres!

How many balloon launches do you think have ever been watched by people in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. all at the same time?
History in the making I'd bet.

Looks like it's headed nearly straight up now....Nope, heading south again.

OMG! Now we've got the Chase Car in hot pursuit. The tension of this is killing me!
http://spacenear.us/tracker/

Dang! Looks like it came out of its spiral, headed South again at 20,500m.

What altitude do you suppose the chase car will reach?

To me it looks like it's sitting still. The chase car is the number two, right?
By the way, what's the number one hanging out west of the M11? Doug headed to work?

Edit: Chase car location suddenly shows up south of the balloon!
And the balloon ground track has done another quick loop-d-loop.
Ho hum.

25000!

GO BADGER!
Click to view attachment

Just a little nervous here. I'm looking at the descent slopes of the previous two flights on Google Earth and if this flight were to descend in a similar fashion, there is a large likelihood that it would land in water (somewhere between the locations marked Canvey Island and Foulness Island. I hope I'm wrong.)

Just sayin.

The view from 28,600m
Click to view attachment

And doooowwwwwnnn she comes... and back up a bit... and back down again.

Caught an updraft on the parachute?

-the other Doug

A long gap in the data....couldn't hold my breath any longer.
Sigh of relief now...4500m and descending.

Looks like a good call on the chase car stake-out location. Its going to fall into their lap!

ISTR from my Essex school days that the highest point in Essex was the top of the Danbury church spire at 365ft ASL -so not a huge error on reported chase car altitude...

Great that we are not going to see a sea landing - looking forward to the pictures!

Rob (now sadly off to work...)

I dunno -- unless she turns again, looks like she's heading to a landing just south of Bicknacre.

-the other Doug

Hang on Badger, nearly there!
Click to view attachment

I'm sure it's down and hopefully soon will be in the clutches of it's rightful owners. I suspect the position updates were stopped to help ensure this.

Well - I gave up the chase after the first 40 minute drive south - I couldn't hang around any more with work to get back for.

BUT

Spoke to Ed - they have eyes on the payload on the ground near Bicknacre. He promises a call once they get to it and inspect the result.

I think we probably tried to put too much onto it - hence the rather slow ascent and thus quite a long ride. A little bit worried about the duration of the flight. I cranked up the 'mb/minute' as it were, on the script....but it will have done 3-4 hours on the card.

Just got off the phone from Ed. He's essentially speechless. He didn't know what to say - but 'awesome' and 'amazing' were used more than once.

So net result.... it worked, and beautifully.

They've got to get back to Cambridge (a couple of hours) and then we'll get a few tasters.

Great.

If there is any chance of getting the whole lot online today (set up ftp and then go to bed!) then I have 4-5 hours this evening with nothing currently to do.