Start Date
5-12-2015 2:30 PM
Description
The intent of this research project is to create a comprehensive flight plan for a high altitude balloon flight. The Get Away Special team is designing a cube satellite in which an inflatable, uv curable boom is deployed. The balloon flight will further validate the design of the Get Away Special Passive Attitude Control Satellite, GASPACS. Using previous flight information from the Weber State HARBOR program, approximate altitude versus pressure measurements were taken using a multisensory and a gps unit. The data was compared with a real time clock within each device. It is essential for the GASPACS payload to deploy in a pressure lower than the internal boom pressure for experimental success, this pressure is approximately 100 torr. The most effective window of time to deploy the GASPACS payload was determined to be between 70,000 feet and 80,000 feet. It was necessary to determine how long it would take the boom to deploy and cure, and assure there was sufficient time for such procedures before balloon burst. It takes about 10 minutes for the balloon to travel from 80,000 feet to 90,000 feet, which gives the balloon an extra ten minutes for contingencies. Most balloons burst after 90,000 feet. The HAPCAD flight is scheduled to launch the summer of 2015.
High Altitude Payload for CUBESAT Aeroboom Development (HAPCAD)
The intent of this research project is to create a comprehensive flight plan for a high altitude balloon flight. The Get Away Special team is designing a cube satellite in which an inflatable, uv curable boom is deployed. The balloon flight will further validate the design of the Get Away Special Passive Attitude Control Satellite, GASPACS. Using previous flight information from the Weber State HARBOR program, approximate altitude versus pressure measurements were taken using a multisensory and a gps unit. The data was compared with a real time clock within each device. It is essential for the GASPACS payload to deploy in a pressure lower than the internal boom pressure for experimental success, this pressure is approximately 100 torr. The most effective window of time to deploy the GASPACS payload was determined to be between 70,000 feet and 80,000 feet. It was necessary to determine how long it would take the boom to deploy and cure, and assure there was sufficient time for such procedures before balloon burst. It takes about 10 minutes for the balloon to travel from 80,000 feet to 90,000 feet, which gives the balloon an extra ten minutes for contingencies. Most balloons burst after 90,000 feet. The HAPCAD flight is scheduled to launch the summer of 2015.