Scientific balloons
Fort Hays State University
November 22, 2013
Paul Adams and Jack Maseberg
(N8VRN)
(K1AMO)
Things that fly…
Sky lanterns (~300 B.C.), 575 K = 575 ˚F = 302 ˚C
Disney’s Tangled (2010)
theskylantern.com
Things that fly…
Sky lanterns (~300 B.C.), 575 K = 575 ˚F = 302 ˚C
Disney’s Tangled (2010)
theskylantern.com
Things that fly…
Hot air balloons (1783)
393 K = 248 ˚F = 120 ˚C
Early balloon designs (1818)
http://www.greatmidwestballoonfest.org/
http://www.greatmidwestballoonfest.org/
Photos by Jessie Irvin
Things that fly…
Gas balloons (1783, 10 days after the first manned hot air flight)
hydrogen or helium
Disney-Pixar's Up
Things that fly…
Hindenburg, 1937
– hydrogen vs. helium
National weather service
• Since the 1930’s the NWS has measured temperature,
dewpoint, relative humidity, pressure, and wind velocity
(using GPS tracking) with balloon based radiosondes
• 50 weather balloon launch points in US (in KS: Dodge City
and Topeka)
• Launch 2 balloons per day at 0000 and 1200 UTC (6:00a.m.
and 6:00 p.m. during normal time, 7:a.m. and 7:p.m. during
daylight savings time in the summer)
• About 1% of radiosondes are returned
• NWS stations use 1400 g of H2 to fill 1200 g Kaymont balloons
• http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/weather-balloon-data
Federal Aviation Regulations
Part 101 (FAR 101)
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(i) Carries a payload package that weighs more than four pounds and has a weight/size ratio of
more than three ounces per square inch on any surface of the package, determined by dividing the
total weight in ounces of the payload package by the area in square inches of its smallest surface;
(ii) Carries a payload package that weighs more than six pounds;
(iii) Carries a payload, of two or more packages, that weighs more than 12 pounds; or
(iv) Uses a rope or other device for suspension of the payload that requires an impact force of more
than 50 pounds to separate the suspended payload from the balloon.*
*“This applies only to the load line between the balloon and parachute. “Impact force” is
undefined by the FAA, but should not be equated to the line’s rated tensile strength; a 50 lb tensile
line will break during launch. The intent of this limit is to ensure that the balloon detaches in the
event of collision with an aircraft. EOSS uses 250 lb woven nylon kite line which did break at a knot
during post-burst chaos on one flight.” - http://www.eoss.org/pubs/far_annotated.htm#_ftn2
12 lbs  mass of 5.44 kg
• NOTAM (Notice to Airmen for HiBall) #877.487.6867
Why do balloons fly?
Archimedes of Syracuse
(212 B.C.)
Buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid
Isaac Newton
(1687)
Buoyancy
Conditions for buoyancy:
1)
2)
3)
A fluid must be present (air)
An object must be free to move in the fluid (balloon)
The object and fluid must be subject to a force (gravity)
A. L. Lehman et. al., Am. J. Phys. 56, 1046 (1988).
Why do balloons fly?
Why do balloons fly?
Why do balloons fly?
Why do balloons fly?
F = ma
F = ma
NASA atmospheric data
WR
Us
Altitude
Mount Everest
Commercial Jet
Our balloon
ISS
Radius of Earth
Moon
8.8 km (5.5 mi, 29,000 ft)
10 km (6.5 mi, 33,000 ft)
26.7 km (16.6 mi, 87,600 ft)
370 km (230 mi)
6,380 km (3,960 mi)
384,000 km (239,000 mi)
Distance to Horizon
h
d
R
R
Balloon Records
• 1st US transcontinental (& 1st transatlantic) amateur radio
HAB (Dec 11, 2011)
California > Mediterranean Sea, 6,236 miles in 57 hours
Near Space Project flight number CNSP-11
(call sign K6RPT-11, www.aprs.fi)
• 1961, two US navy men set manned altitude record at
113,740 feet (34,668 m)
• 1999, two men circumnavigated the globe non-stop in 20
days (Breitling Orbiter 3)
• Unmanned altitude record: 51.82 km (170k ft or 32.2mi)
Balloon Motion
• Trajectory predictions:
http://habhub.org/predict/
PHYSpedia
• What you need:
http://fourier.fhsu.edu/mediawiki/index.php/Project
Hays, KS
It’s a bird. It’s …
December 16, 2011, 2 miles north of exit 225 on I-70
Payload recovered 67 miles from launch point
Max altitude ~88,000 ft.
Fly time: ~120 min
July 20, 2012, 5 miles east of Cedar Bluff Reservoir
Payload recovered 17 miles from launch point
December 16, 2011, just north of exit 225 on I-70
Max altitude ~75,000 ft.
Fly time: ~100 min
The Chase
• Visible burst
• APRS tracks
Data logging
Ascent rate: 980 ft/min
Descent rate: 3500 ft/min
32 °F to -80 °F
Burst
Magnetic field and gravitation
• Magnitude of measured B field: 520.3(1) mG
– Expected ~ 525 mG
• Average angle measured between B and vertical: 28.4˚
– Expected 23.4˚
• Sensor was un-calibrated!
Burst
Burst
Cosmic Ray Counts
UVA Intensity
Videos:
www.fhsu.edu/physics//news---events/
https://store.diydrones.com/
Future Goals
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Cosmic rays
Video streaming in real time
Collect bacteria at high altitude
Payload stabilization with wings and/or
gyroscopes/CO2 cartridges
• Panoramic images, fish eye lens, etc.
Acknowledgments
• Special thanks to
– Paul Verhage
– Biology Department
• Sam Zwenger and Eric Gillok
– Naomi Kitzis and Lianne Zwenger
Dr. Timothy Rolls