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For 2012, something will be done that has never been done before at a Southwestern Division Convention. If the prevailing winds and launch conditions are favorable, a "near space" balloon will be launched by Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) on Saturday at the Yuma Hamfest. The launch will be an example of Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning (ARHAB), using amateur radio and weather balloons for high-altitude research. Near space is that region of the atmosphere above 60,000 feet but below the accepted altitude of space, 328,000 feet. Near space is far more like earth orbit than the surface of the earth, where air pressure reaches 99% of a vacuum and air temperatures drop to -60°F or colder. Cosmic radiation is over 100 times greater than at sea level. Research in these conditions is done by college students, and the balloon launched at the hamfest will be carrying a number of student payload packages.
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What is launched consists of a balloon, a recovery parachute, and the payload packages. The balloon includes an amateur radio transmitter that permits tracking of the flight to its landing and recovery using an Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) tracker which transmits the balloon's position from GPS signals. The photo at the left was taken from a balloon at 84,000 feet.
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More Information:
Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) is a non-profit organization which has launched 65 balloons so far. The balloons go very high (the highest was over 22 miles) to the edge of space. The helium-filled balloon is about 15 feet in diameter on the ground, but swells to about 60 feet in the very low pressure of near space, and it eventually bursts. With the attached parachute, the payload package returns to earth; the whole process only takes about two hours. Amateur radio operators with APRS track the downwind path of the balloon and drive to its landing site and recover the payload packages. Students later analyze the data captured by their particular payload and use it in their research. The balloon is also equipped with a 70cm/2m cross-band repeater during its flight.
Balloon launches are scheduled to coincide with college semester schedules and good weather; not many occur during the winter. The next launch (#66) would likely have been done in March or April. Because it is an "unscheduled launch", the Yuma Amateur Radio Hamfest Organization funded the launch.
On Friday before the launch, ANSR volunteers will provide a briefing on the balloon launch and a seminar presentation about their mission and previous launches. Following the launch on Saturday, a computer and display at the Yuma Hamfest will be setup at the hamfest for live monitoring of the balloon flight progress and tracking the path of the balloon. You are free to stop by and monitor its progress.
Launch details:
The ANSR-66 launch will take place about 9:00 a.m. on Saturday at the Yuma Hamfest, weather permitting. If the prevailing winds are not right, e.g., upper winds which could cause the balloon to take a path over the Barry Goldwater range or into Mexico, then the launch will either be scrubbed or repositioned to the north, e.g., near Quartzsite. The exact time of the launch will determined by winds, air traffic and is coordinated with the nearby MCAS Yuma control tower.
The balloon will carry three student-built payloads from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Arizona Western College. The payloads will contain scientific equipment including temperature and pressure sensors, cameras, and a Geiger Counter. Other payloads will include two APRS beacons, a SSTV package, a Fast Scan ATV transmitter and a cross-band repeater. The cross-band repeater will operate with an input frequency of 145.56 MHz with a 162.2 Hz tone, and an output of 445.525 MHz. While contacts (especially DX) are welcome, please give priority to chase team members.
APRS Beacons will transmit position information on 144.34 MHz and 445.950 MHz. A mobile cross-band Digipeater will repeat the beacon data to the 144.390 MHz standard APRS frequency locally and subsequently will be I-GATED to the Internet for out-of-area trackers. Callsign information will be provided prior to the flight for following on www.aprs.fi and www.findu.com.
The expected burst altitude of the balloon is 90,000 feet or more. The flight is anticipated to last about 2.5 hours from launch to touchdown.
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