\"Hello,
The Spirit of Knoxville V (SNOX V) balloon will launch this weekend from Knoxville, TN. Please visit http://spiritofknoxville.com for more information and live flight tracking. This will be the last SNOX flight this season, the trans-atlantic jet stream wind is slowing as warm weather arrives.
8PM EDT Saturday April 5
(0000 UTC April 6)
Thank you,
The Spirit of Knoxville Crew\"
I have been looking at jet stream forecasts on this site:
http://squall.sfsu.edu/crws/jetstream.html
Assuming the balloon launches on schedule and stays at altitude, it will most likely be headed for North Africa or the Iberian Peninsula, even though its initial heading will be more northerly than SNOX IV.
Spirit of Knoxville V Trans-Atlantic Balloon Flight
ic,
The Spirit of Knoxville:
autonomous trans-atlantic balloon project
We're sending a series of unmanned balloons out to cross the Atlantic Ocean. When (or if) one makes it, it might just be a world record of some sort.
Here's what will happen:
A Spirit of Knoxville autonomous balloon will be released from downtown Knoxville, TN, climb to 42,000 ft, enter the jetstream, and be whisked across the Atlantic Ocean... we hope. All the while a homemade radio will send us its location, height and other health info about the flight. All of this information will be available right here on our site in real-time during missions.
Sign up and we'll let you know when we're having a launch. We usually get about 48 hours notice that the weather is right. We'll keep launching every few weeks or until we make it to Europe or Africa.
Be a part of history in the making, or at least have fun watching us try!
.....
Over the radio, it constantly tells us where it is, and how high it's gotten, so we can chase madly after it in a cross-country fox hunt to catch up with the electronic balloon passenger after it parachutes softly back to earth. Things can go wrong, but we try to give the little computer a \"Plan B\" to try when things get tough, so it can at least have a fair shot for survival.
.....
Learning from our mistakes, we know the quirks of the Jet Stream, the sucker punches that come at 70 degrees below zero, the unexpected strength of air pressure, and the magic of shortwave radio. We're now at a point where our electronic explorer, the little flight computer, has all the skills to keep a balloon out of trouble for up to a week, and we've found a balloon designer that has brought to us a proven home made design, trustworthy of flying for several days at a time. The next flight we fly will be the first one that is designed to be fully capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and landing on the other side. We have every intention of success, but should it fall into the ocean, we will rest briefly, build it better next time, and fly again until we make it.
....
the balloon carries a self-made computer uniquely designed to coordinate with a GPS to relay information regarding the mission. The balloon also carries denatured alcohol that is released by the computer to maintain the necessary altitude; and it is all powered by a cluster of 38 lithium ion AA batteries.
....
How does the balloon know where to go?
The truth is it doesn't -- we do! We monitor the wind patterns of the jet stream and can project our balloon's flight path ahead of time using special weather forecasting software. We choose our launch times strategically in order to ensure that the weather's behavior is conducive to where we want the balloon to go during it's multi-day flight.
i guess that's cool.
i especially like the alcohol release, i'm not sure exactly what the point of that is. Is it released into the balloon to add to vapour pressure; or is it dropped off the side to lighten the load?
Roid,
From what I read and what was said in their chat room, it sounded like it was used as ballast (and dumped).
They had a mission re-cap of SNOX IV Saturday before last, and they said that one of the major problems was that the automatic system was obliged to use all of the ballast on the first night because the balloon lost so much altitude. The balloon team indicated that this could have been due to icing.
I know from listening to the telemetry that while the signal was stable much of the time, there were times when the pitch fluctuated wildly or transmissions halted before all the data was sent. They may have had humidity problems within the radio/computer chamber in addition to ice on the outside of the balloon and payload.
They will likely have a re-cap chat session after this flight, so that would be an opportunity for you to ask that question to the balloon team directly.
Kilarin,
I live in northwest North Carolina, so I had the good fortune to be within about 15 miles of the flight path on SNOX IV. I am not a member of the balloon team. In fact I had never heard of the balloon team or their flights until the afternoon that SNOX IV launched, so I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get a station together (I am not really active as an amateur radio operator these days).
The reason I posted about these flights is because the success of the tracking system hinges on getting volunteers or even just casual listeners to tune in. Basically, you just connect the audio output of your radio to the audio input of your computer, run the DTRC client, and tune to the signal. Everything else is automatic, so it really is an elegant and effective system.
From what I read and what was said in their chat room, it sounded like it was used as ballast (and dumped).
They had a mission re-cap of SNOX IV Saturday before last, and they said that one of the major problems was that the automatic system was obliged to use all of the ballast on the first night because the balloon lost so much altitude. The balloon team indicated that this could have been due to icing.
I know from listening to the telemetry that while the signal was stable much of the time, there were times when the pitch fluctuated wildly or transmissions halted before all the data was sent. They may have had humidity problems within the radio/computer chamber in addition to ice on the outside of the balloon and payload.
They will likely have a re-cap chat session after this flight, so that would be an opportunity for you to ask that question to the balloon team directly.
Kilarin,
I live in northwest North Carolina, so I had the good fortune to be within about 15 miles of the flight path on SNOX IV. I am not a member of the balloon team. In fact I had never heard of the balloon team or their flights until the afternoon that SNOX IV launched, so I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to get a station together (I am not really active as an amateur radio operator these days).
The reason I posted about these flights is because the success of the tracking system hinges on getting volunteers or even just casual listeners to tune in. Basically, you just connect the audio output of your radio to the audio input of your computer, run the DTRC client, and tune to the signal. Everything else is automatic, so it really is an elegant and effective system.
It looks like we may have dueling balloons:
http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/A ... ements.htm
There are now two other Trans-Atlantic floater balloons scheduled (at least tentatively) for today. SDG-10 is tentatively scheduled to launch from Detroit, MI, and WB8ELK-11 is scheduled to launch from Falkville, AL.
I wonder if any of these vehicles have anti-balloon payloads.
http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/A ... ements.htm
There are now two other Trans-Atlantic floater balloons scheduled (at least tentatively) for today. SDG-10 is tentatively scheduled to launch from Detroit, MI, and WB8ELK-11 is scheduled to launch from Falkville, AL.
I wonder if any of these vehicles have anti-balloon payloads.
Looks like one of them crashed. This is a great link, thanks...The Latest News:
Balloon found. In a tree. On private property. Msg left to property owner. Balloon still has a lot of helium left in it. about 3 hours ago
Payload found. Up in a tree. On private property. Messages to property owner left about 3 hours ago
Recovery plans underway. Volunteers heading to area. about 7 hours ago
Bee
If they can get the payload back, they might be able to launch one more mission this season, provided they can get a balloon in time.
One or both of the other two missions is supposed to take place next weekend.
I had no idea there were so many groups involved in this stuff. There are still more groups outside the U.S.
One or both of the other two missions is supposed to take place next weekend.
I had no idea there were so many groups involved in this stuff. There are still more groups outside the U.S.