January 2023 Flights @Make Sunsets

[ayesha iqbal]

https://makesunsets.com/blogs/news/january-2023-flights

01 January 2023

Make Sunsets 

We plan to fly at least 3 balloons in January 2023. Here's some details. Anyone can comment here (https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1vpPNk7f2yOzbX0UdaBDgGj-7gzObm2ZMy6RM_bWx5lA/mobilebasic), and we'll consider input before finalizing launch plans!

Where/When: 

Southern Baja, Mexico. We'll plan exact location based on weather conditions, utilizing SondeHub Predictor (https://predict.sondehub.org/) to decide exactly where and when. Target will be near a road but away from any population center.

Balloons:

These flights will be latex weather balloons rated at 1200g. 

Lift Gas:

These flights will utilize helium.

Clouds:

We will utilize sulfur dioxide generated by burning sulfur in the presence of oxygen. Each launch will include between 10g and 500g of clouds (target 100g+).

Target altitude:

We will use a balloon performance calculator (http://tools.highaltitudescience.com/#) to inflate such that we're likely to achieve a burst altitude of ~33km. 

Flight Body: 

We're running this body (https://www.highaltitudescience.com/products/eagle-pro-near-space-kit), and we'll likely add pool noodles for floatation (in case of a water landing).

Telemetry: 

We're including this flight computer (https://www.highaltitudescience.com/collections/electronics/products/eagle-flight-computer) as well as a Spot tracker. Note that the Spot tracker (https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/) cuts out at 18km and the flight computer isn't transmitting data, so we'll only get full detail if we recover the balloon. Additionally, we'll be flying a camera. 

Publication: 

Within a week of each flight, we will publish all data obtained on our website.

Next Round (after January flights), priorities to add include:

- Swarm (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/19236) for data transmission during flight 

-waterproof + buoyant flight body

-separate "cloud" chamber that vents at target altitude

-partial balloon venting at target altitude

-lighter camera and/or flights without

-switch to hydrogen (if we can safely flare at altitude or otherwise deal with GHG implications).

Source: Make Sunsets

[Andrew Lockley]

Poster's note: I've made multiple comments on this document. There are many opportunities to improve sustainability, safety, & transparency that I've been working noted. My comments are not to be taken as final and do not imply endorsement of the approach described.

---

Anyone can comment on this document, so things might get a little crazy. 

We plan to fly at least 3 balloons in January 2023. Here's some details. Anyone can comment here, and we'll consider input before finalizing launch plans!

Where/When: 

Southern Baja, Mexico. We'll plan exact location based on weather conditions, utilizing SondeHub Predictor to decide exactly where and when. Target will be near a road but away from any material population center 

Balloons:

These flights will be latex weather balloons rated at 1200g. 

Lift Gas:

These flights will utilize helium.

Clouds:

We will utilize sulfur dioxide generated by burning sulfur in the presence of oxygen. Each launch will include between 10g and 500g of clouds (target 100g+).

Target altitude:

We will use a balloon performance calculator to inflate such that we're likely to achieve a burst altitude of ~33km. 

Flight Body: 

We're running this body, and we'll likely add pool noodles for floatation (in case of a water landing).

Telemetry: 

We're including this flight computer as well as a Spot tracker. Note that the Spot tracker cuts out at 18km and the flight computer isn't transmitting data, so we'll only get full detail if we recover the balloon. Additionally, we'll be flying a camera. 

Publication: 

Within a week of each flight, we will publish all data obtained on our website.

Next Round (after January flights), priorities to add include:

- Swarm for data transmission during flight 

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