DIY Sending a Weather Balloon to 95,500 + Golf Ball!
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the interesting info is in the YouTube detail
Published on 16 Jul 2016
My 7-year old brother, Nathan, sent a weather balloon to the outskirts of space. The launch was initiated by Nathan hitting one of his monster golf shots.
The Flight:
- Starting point: Bedford, PA
- Landing point: Glen Rock, PA
- Total distance: 112 miles
- Total flight time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
- Max altitude: 95,500 feet / 18.1 miles / 29.1 km
This is the world record for the highest/longest/furthest (assisted) golf shot!
The Components:
- 600g Kaymont weather balloon
- 36" Spherachute parachute
- 30lb nylon string
- Payload: 8x8x5" Styrofoam cooler - Lightdow 6000 Action Camera (cheap GoPro alternative) - iPhone 4s for gps tracking (Find My iPhone app) - 2 portable USB chargers (for camera + phone) - Handwarmers and insulation (the middle of the stratosphere can be as cold as -80 Deg f, which can kill battery life) - Spring-loaded fishing reel to automatically retract in golf ball after shot - "Great Stuff" insulating foam sealant to seal from water and cold - Lots of duct tape - 68 cubic feet of helium
In order to achieve the greatest altitude possible before the balloon expands and pops, it is important to calculate the appropriate amount of helium for the weight of the payload. To help determine this, we used this balloon performance calculator:http://tools.highaltitudescience.com/
Before launching the balloon, we used a flight predictor that takes into account the weight of the payload, size of balloon and current wind forecasts to predict the landing location of the payload. That predictor can be found here: http://predict.habhub.org/
There was certainly a lot that went into planning, constructing the payload, attaching the parachute and string, filling the balloon, and launching it simultaneously with the golf ball. More than any of these however, the real challenge (and most important one) was recovering the payload when it returned from the stratosphere so we could watch whatever our video cam recorded! In order to track the balloon/payload, we used the Find My iPhone app on an old iPhone 4s.
Amazingly, both the flight predictor and GPS tracking worked almost to perfection. After launching the balloon, we began driving to the general location indicated by the online flight predictor.
After about 4 hours from the launch, we finally got a check in: it had landed and was only 9 miles away! (We couldn't receive a signal from the phone higher than a few thousand feet).
The good news: we found the payload. The bad news: it was snagged over 100 feet in a tree. Thanks to A Climber's View Tree Services in Glen Rock, PA for scaling the tree and dislodging the payload!
Although the camera has somewhat of a fish-eye effect in the corners, I think its safe to say this video disproves the flat earth theory, for those of you that are still unsure.
Published on 16 Jul 2016
My 7-year old brother, Nathan, sent a weather balloon to the outskirts of space. The launch was initiated by Nathan hitting one of his monster golf shots.
The Flight:
- Starting point: Bedford, PA
- Landing point: Glen Rock, PA
- Total distance: 112 miles
- Total flight time: 3 hours, 10 minutes
- Max altitude: 95,500 feet / 18.1 miles / 29.1 km
This is the world record for the highest/longest/furthest (assisted) golf shot!
The Components:
- 600g Kaymont weather balloon
- 36" Spherachute parachute
- 30lb nylon string
- Payload: 8x8x5" Styrofoam cooler - Lightdow 6000 Action Camera (cheap GoPro alternative) - iPhone 4s for gps tracking (Find My iPhone app) - 2 portable USB chargers (for camera + phone) - Handwarmers and insulation (the middle of the stratosphere can be as cold as -80 Deg f, which can kill battery life) - Spring-loaded fishing reel to automatically retract in golf ball after shot - "Great Stuff" insulating foam sealant to seal from water and cold - Lots of duct tape - 68 cubic feet of helium
In order to achieve the greatest altitude possible before the balloon expands and pops, it is important to calculate the appropriate amount of helium for the weight of the payload. To help determine this, we used this balloon performance calculator:http://tools.highaltitudescience.com/
Before launching the balloon, we used a flight predictor that takes into account the weight of the payload, size of balloon and current wind forecasts to predict the landing location of the payload. That predictor can be found here: http://predict.habhub.org/
There was certainly a lot that went into planning, constructing the payload, attaching the parachute and string, filling the balloon, and launching it simultaneously with the golf ball. More than any of these however, the real challenge (and most important one) was recovering the payload when it returned from the stratosphere so we could watch whatever our video cam recorded! In order to track the balloon/payload, we used the Find My iPhone app on an old iPhone 4s.
Amazingly, both the flight predictor and GPS tracking worked almost to perfection. After launching the balloon, we began driving to the general location indicated by the online flight predictor.
After about 4 hours from the launch, we finally got a check in: it had landed and was only 9 miles away! (We couldn't receive a signal from the phone higher than a few thousand feet).
The good news: we found the payload. The bad news: it was snagged over 100 feet in a tree. Thanks to A Climber's View Tree Services in Glen Rock, PA for scaling the tree and dislodging the payload!
Although the camera has somewhat of a fish-eye effect in the corners, I think its safe to say this video disproves the flat earth theory, for those of you that are still unsure.
mrmetallica
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i hope he shouted four lol