Derby Makers, Project H.A.B proposal
Tony Brookes
Dear All
Last night we had a chat about group projects. I’ve put a short proposal together, please let me know if this is the sort of thing that’s wanted
Introduction
Building and flying a High Altitude Balloon (HAB) initially sounds daunting. However, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has sponsored 20+ school teams to build and fly their own, and there is a supportive community which welcomes newcomers and provides clear documentation and advice from the UK High Altitude Society (UKHAS https://ukhas.org.uk/ ). There is also a special Google maps tool to predict the most likely path that a balloon will take after launch. This also helps plan where the payload can be recovered from.
The most important advice they give is – take your time, don't rush and get involved (if you can) with others to “learn the ropes”. Costs are thought to be in the £300 - £400 region and with luck only the balloon and helium being the consumable items [payloads are usually but not always recovered] Payloads are usually RasPi, GPS tracker, camers(s) battery, transmitter. Reference designs exist for all the items needed.
Suggested timescale & project outline
Project team forms and work packages sorted out including a firm estimate of costs – January 2016
Learning and planning phase – February – April 2016. Costs agreed, bill of materials and suppliers firm, including self build items (i.e. the payload).
First launch – July 2016, contingency of August. Launch sites to be agreed.
This would then, weather permitting, allow us to plan a launch for the Mini Maker Faire in October 2016.
Notes – Anyone launching a HAB must get prior permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ensure the safety of all other civil & military airspace users. The process is called a Notification of Air Traffic Movement (NOTAM) and must be applied for a minimum of 1 month in advance. I would expect to sort this out as part of the project.
grant gibson
I'd like to be involved in this project I have some contacts within the rocketry community that have done this for organisations such as the BBC and the Stevenage hackspace that attended maker faire has a member (mike) who is also a rocketry guy and has the same link as I do. Basically I know some people that know some people. I can also potentially get access to school fields if we want to launch from there.
We might be able to get sponsorship through the IMechE or royal aeronautical society or other professional institutions as well if we can provide a structured cost breakdown. It would have to involve some elements or children or educational outreach but this could be a programme where the kids write some code or design a recovery parachute etc.
Regards
Grant
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Morgan Barke
Paul Stevens
Morgan Barke
One of the things I was hoping to do was setup a regular schedule for the HAB project on a Thursday evening once a month as an open project.