The Great Plains Super Launch is to be held on Saturday, 2 July 2005 near Omaha, NE.
| Flight Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Launch Date/Time | Saturday, 2 July at 8:00am |
| Alternative Date | Sunday, 3 July at 8:00am |
| Launch Site | Treynor High School parking lot (41° 13.9, 95° 34.5'W) in Treynor, IA. |
| Primary Transmitter / Antenna | VX-1R HT running APRS on 144.34MHz / Vertically polarized dipole |
| Backup Transmitter / Antenna | PocketTracker running APRS on 144.34MHz / Horizontally polarized dipole |
| Balloon / Gas | Kaysam 1000gram / 240 cu feet of Helium |
| Estimated Burst Altitude | 89,000' MSL |
| Estimated Ascent Rate | 1200' per minute |
| Estimated Descent Rate | Approx. 1000' per minute at touchdown |
| Capsule(s) weight | 5 lbs 8 oz including parachute, rigging, batteries, etc... |
| Chase Frequencies | 446.52MHz |
| Balloon Finder Telemetry Mode | PT Mode 2. |
Flight Results
Unfortunately, we've been having problems with the RF-link between the capsule and the cut-down board. The link worked fine on the ground for approximately one hour, but failed immediately after launch. Consequently, the loss of heartbeat caused the cutdown to fire just a few minutes into the flight.
| Flight Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Launch Date/Time | Saturday, 2 July 2005 at 8:19am. |
| Launch Site | Treynor High School parking lot (41° 13.9, 95° 34.5'W) in Treynor, IA. |
| Burst Altitude | About 3,075 (937m) MSL - Due to cutdown failure |
| Average Ascent Rate | Unknown - not enough data |
| Measured Descent Rate | Unknown - not enough data |
| Touchdown Site | 1 mile northeast of Treynor, IA (41° 15.4482'N, 95° 35.1216'W) |
| Touchdown Time | Saturday, 2 July 2005 at 8:28am |
| Recovery Time | Saturday, 2 July 2005 at 9:45am |
| Distance Traveled | 1 mile (2km) as the crow flies |
| Total Flight Time | 9 minutes |
Lessons Learned
- Don't trust RF link tests done on the ground within close proximity between the transmitter and receiver.
- When operating multiple transmitters in the vacinity of other balloons, strongly consider running our transmitters on separate frequencies. We had concerns that we were being walked on by some mis-behaving APRS beacons on other flights. Diversifing between multiple frequencies would give us a way out in case of a stuck mic key.