Final Preparations

We are ready to go.

The capsule is completed, the cameras are charged and have fresh memory cards, the data logger has been tested, helium has been purchased, and launch sites have been surveyed and narrowed down.

Today, we did our final checks on the project. We drove up to Daly City, near San Francisco, and selected the launch site from three possible locations. We will be launching from Franklin D. Roosevelt Elementary School, as they have a nice open field with minimal trees and obstructions to hinder the early minutes of the flight. Our only concerns are that there may be a low fog layer according to the weather forecasts, but the balloon should be clear of that in a matter of minutes. We selected this location because, according to predictions made by the CUSF Landing Predictor, the balloon should fly right over San Francisco, capturing amazing views of the city and providing for a great first hour or so of footage.

Projected flight path
(Click to enlarge)

A few weeks ago, we picked up some helium from a welding shop for the balloon. We purchased 85 cu. ft., but soon realized that that wasn't enough, so we went back and got 60 cu. ft. more, for a total of 140 cu. ft. Our balloon should be filled to around 115 cu. ft., so we should have plenty.

We also realized that the 4 ft. parachute that we bought from Rocketman Enterprises was too small. We ran tests with a weight comparable to our capsule by dropping it off large buildings and filming it on the way down, and decided that it fell too fast, so we ordered the 5 ft parachute and sent back the old one. We ran tests with the new parachute, and it descended in a much more controlled manner.

It's the night before the launch, and we are excited for tomorrow morning. We are hoping to launch around 9 or 10 a.m., and if all goes according to the predictor, it should end up in Napa or Santa Rosa.

The balloon should rise at a rate of around 15 ft/sec, and will pop around 95,000-100,000 ft. The descent rate should be around 14 ft/sec, and the whole flight will last around 3 hours. We are hoping that our cameras will survive the whole flight, as the cold temperatures will significantly affect their battery life, but they will at least last the flight up, and if they do stop recording, it will be during the descent.

Tomorrow will be the fruition of several months' efforts, and we are hoping that those months will pay off. If all goes according to plan, the next update will be of the recovered flight footage. Stay tuned!