Details of the flight of SpeedBall-1 this weekend

[Dan Bowen]

I'm Proud to announce the first, and possibly only major flight of White Star, our pride and joy, on the cutting edge of amateur science and engineering, SpeedBall-1, "Lally":

Up to date info will be available here as launch approaches: http://whitestarballoon.com/?p=826

We will have live streaming video and crew audio from mission control and launch.  

This is a fully autonomous system that has a deadman timer that requires periodic command uplinks, provided by a round-the-clock mission control.  This was designed to fly at 10km altitude, (32,000 ft) across the Atlantic Ocean, but time has run out for a trans-atlantic crossing, and it's not a good idea to dawdle around the USA at 32,000 ft, so we're going to just drag it up to 70,000 ft and see how the newly developed systems work.  Particularly of note to watch is our new ballast algorithm: modeled after 1940s balloon hypothesis to minimize the use of ballast and helium and maximize airtime. 

Launch time: 7:45PM ET Saturday (2345 UTC 12 May)

Launch Location: Spaceport Indiana (KBAK Airport)

Cruise Altitude 70,000 ft  (We're movin' on up!)

Flight Duration Expected: 2-5 Days

Tracking page: http://track.whitestarballoon.com  (note this may show (and be marked as)simulated testing data up until about 5PM ET Saturday.

Balloon System: A hybrid floater, with a latex balloon doing the heavy lifting to 21km altitude, far above the ZP's original design altitude of 10km.  The ZP will still provide the function of venting enough helium to arrest the climb and establish a float.

• Zero Pressure Polyethylene envelope, 660 ft^3 by Global Western with White-star designed one-way plate valve, featuring a silicone seat, and PVC pipe port at the top for He temp sensor.

• 1600g Hwoyee latex tow balloon balloon courtesy of WB8ELK, Bill Brown.

Payloads of note: 

Remotely triggerable Go Pro Camera (Simultaneous wide angle view of both balloon above and horizon/ground in front)

Iridium-Arduino Satellite Communication Shield by White Star with command uplinking and adjustable telemetry intervals

Nichrome deadman cutdown by Carl Lyster, WA4ADG

ZP balloon lift gas anti-dilution valve by Gary Flispart

54 Energizer Lithium AA Batteries

5.5lbs of C2H6O ballast in a SNOX-copied ballast bottle

Humidity Sensor

Cloud particle sensor

Temperature sensors

Helium internal temperature sensor

Raw battery pack voltage sensor

Estimated Ground Track:  Very slow progression through the midwestern USA for several days if target altitude is reached.

Lift Helium is proudly provided by SpacePort Indiana, Praxair Gases, and donors to White Star/LVL1