Wisc. cadets capture photos from near space with balloon project

 

 

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Intense light from the sun is obvious in this photograph taken by Stevens Point Composite Squadron cadets’ near-space balloon project. 

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This photo was taken as the near-space balloon climbed to its highest point – some 20 miles above the Earth. The sky is black in the photo because the earth’s atmosphere is not there to scatter the sun’s light in all directions.

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Here is the sun again, this time to the right of the camera frame. The photo was taken as the near-space balloon expanded to its 60-plus-foot bursting circumference.

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This photo shows the near-space view of the highest point of the near-space balloon flight – some 20 miles above the Earth. It was taken only seconds before the balloon reached its bursting circumference.

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This photo was taken immediately after the beginning of the near-space balloon’s descent. At the time, the balloon was free-falling at terminal velocity.

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This photo was taken after the balloon’s parachute successfully deployed. It shows the border of Wisconsin and Lake Michigan. At the time it was taken, the balloon was descending at 6,000 feet per minute or more, because of the thin air at that altitude.

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Project Hyperion’s payload, seen right before cadets packed it in hand warmers for the near-space balloon’s ascent. The cooler and hand warmers protected the payload from exposure to the extreme cold.

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Cadets work to inflate the balloon for the flight. Assisting them is the Stevens Point commander, Maj. Virginia Suarino.

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A cadet tapes up the payload for Project Hyperion, which included a camera that captured almost 4,000 digital photos -- nearly seven gigabytes of data -- during the flight.

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The taped-up cooler protected the camera throughout the three-minute, 19-second flight, which reached heights of some 20 miles above Earth. The near-space balloon was high enough for the attached camera to capture photos of Lake Michigan. 

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Five cadets and the commander of the Stevens Point Composite Squadron pose for a photo before launching Project Hyperion. Cadet 1st Lt. Mark Flage, third from left with the payload in hand, served as project leader. To his left is the squadron commander, Maj. Virginia Suarino.

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The Stevens Point cadets launch Project Hyperion in Cadott, midway between the equator and the North Pole. About three hours later, the near-space balloon returned to Earth some 145 miles away, just east of the Nicolet National Forest.

Photos by 1st Lt. Terese Barta
 

1st Lt. Terese Barta
Public Affairs Officer
Stevens Point Composite Squadron
Wisconsin Wing

WISCONSIN – On a crisp November afternoon, five cadets and their commander from the Stevens Point Composite Squadron watched their helium-filled weather balloon float up into the cirrus-streaked sky. 

But this was no ordinary weather balloon. This was “Project Hyperion,” their version of a near-space balloon designed to capture photographs from the Earth’s stratosphere. The name for the project was taken from the Greek Titan god of light.

The payload of Hyperion included a digital camera programmed to take a photograph every five seconds. The camera was blanketed with chemical hand-warmers to protect it from the extreme cold temperatures, estimated to be 70 below zero. 

Its position was tracked by means of a GPS-enabled mobile phone and a free real-time GPS mapping program called InstaMapper.

The latex weather balloon the squadron used is designed to expand until it reaches 20 miles above Earth, then burst. Cadets calculated that the balloon was 6 feet in diameter at launch and 23 feet in diameter at the bursting point
The cadets fitted a small parachute to Hyperion to ensure a safe return of the payload back to Earth.

The launch took place at 1:23 p.m. at Cadott, a small town that happens to lie midway between the equator and the North Pole. The location was chosen so the cadets could avoid populated areas but still use cell phone reception for tracking. The balloon’s predicted trajectory was based on 15 different calculations relating to winds aloft.

Within 10 minutes of launch, the balloon had reached an altitude of 9,300 feet MSL (mean sea level). It was also detected at 12,000 feet MSL before floating out of range. About three hours later, the signal returned, and Hyperion landed at 4:42 p.m. just east of the Nicolet National Forest, 145 miles from the launch site.

The entire three-hour, 19-minute trip of the balloon’s payload extended from 44.95345 degrees north, 91.14439 degrees west, to 45.45787 degrees north, 88.31535 degrees west.

The next day, the cadets retrieved the Hyperion payload from the top of a tall tree. The cooler and all its contents were in good shape, and the hand warmers packed inside were still warm. The cadets could hear the cell phone ringing when they called it from the ground. Although its batteries had worn down overnight, the camera suffered no damage.

Nearly 4,000 digital photographs were downloaded from the camera -- almost seven gigabytes of data. The balloon soared high enough to easily capture Lake Michigan in some of the photos.

“The reason the sky is black in some photos is because the earth’s atmosphere is not there to scatter the sun’s light in all directions,” explained the project leader, Cadet 1st Lt. Mark Flage.

While high-altitude balloon photography is not new, this type of launch is unusual in terms of its low cost and ease of assembly, using only off-the-shelf materials that anyone can acquire. The materials included a plastic foam cooler, duct tape and parachute cord. The weather balloon was purchased for $60. The total cost of the project: $150. 

“The entire operation required no specialized knowledge of either programming, radio direction-finding or long-range radio control, making it possible for anybody with $150 and an adventurous attitude to repeat,” Flage said.

Contrast that with the recent NASA test launch of the Ares I-X missile 25 miles into space. Price tag: $445 million.

Flage said planning for Project Hyperion started in October. The plans were developed from Project Icarus, initiated by a group of MIT students who want to share the artistic aspects of science with others. They launched their weather balloon Sept. 2, and their digital camera documented a five-hour flight that reached 93,000 feet, or 17.5 miles. It was recovered 20 miles from the launch site.

Project Icarus is spurring similar launches across the country. Project Hyperion -- the subject of a report by WAOW-TV, the ABC affiliate in Wausau -- was the first successful launch of its type in Wisconsin.

The cadets contacted Minneapolis Center several days before the launch to make sure they would not interfere with controlled airspace. They learned that federal aviation regulations do not apply to balloons with payloads of less than 4 pounds; the Hyperion payload was 2 pounds.

“Our balloon flew farther, higher and longer than previous launches because we acquired a balloon with 4 pounds of free lift for our mission,” Flage said. “Since our payload only required 2 pounds of lift, we chose to underinflate the balloon at launch, enabling it to climb higher before stretching to bursting diameter.”

Flage says he was amazed by the sheer amount of planning involved in the launch of Project Hyperion. Just to determine a good launch site, he had to conduct a series of trajectory and landing zone calculations, which required knowledge of the capsule’s descent rate.

“I learned that a combination of flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles,” he said.

Joining him as participants in the launch were his three brothers – Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Joel Flage, Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Tom Flage and Cadet Airman Daniel Flage -- and Cadet Master Sgt. Alex Menningen, all cadets with the Stevens Point squadron. On hand to witness the launch were the squadron’s commander, Maj. Virginia Suarino, and its deputy commander, 1st Lt. Terese Barta. Cadet Tech Sgt. Nick Burns also helped construct the parachute but couldn’t attend the launch.

Suarino was impressed with the cadets’ planning and execution. “The most exciting part, aside from the moment we let go of the balloon, was seeing the first pictures. Absolutely fantastic,” she said.

The squadron plans to stage future launches and conduct outreach to the community to bring the project into area schools.