Two Flight Reports In One

Flight 56

Catching up with the last two of our stratospheric flights, we performed Far Horizons flights #56 and #57 over the past few weeks. Here’s the rundown of the results…

Final check of ascent control system before launch by the IMSA team

On launch #56 on the 2nd of March, we faced some challenges. Temps were low and some late complications with the experiments made issues tough. At least this time the IMSA built ascent control system left the ground (and made it back). We didn’t have the 30mph gusts to contend with and the ballast was reduced to 1kg to make the launch easier. Lou’s cut down mechanism also went up for its first in flight test. We flew two of the newest generation GoPro Hero 3 cameras as well.

The launch went pretty smoothly and we were positioned within a few hundred meters of the landing. Some snow moved in by the landing which prevented us from observing the landing but recovery was a breeze as it dropped just off the side of the main rural road.

Preparing for launch

The postmortem was not so kind. A failure in the switch of the ascent system prevented the stepper motor driving the valve to open. The payload hit ground with most of its 1kg ballast still in the hopper. The cut down failed to trigger as well. These were all tests of these new systems so design improvements were all expected to be needed.

A snowy retrieval just short of the trees.

The GoPros offered a new concern. Both cameras stopped recording before expected. The up-pointing camera stopped recording before the burst and the side camera stopped before landing. According to the GoPro folks, the only reason they should stop recording is if the SD card fills or the batteries no longer powered the camera. Both cards were not filled so we can surmise the batteries failed in flight. Not a good sign for our 360 flight where one failure of any of the nine cameras would negate the results of an entire flight.

Also, thanks to Roxanne for the great pictures of the flight.

Flight 57

Things turned out somewhat better for flight #57. We were joined by a newly trained team of 12 Air Force Academy High School students on their first flight. They worked together wonderfully to get us launched almost exactly on schedule. This time the improved cut down mechanism work to perfection. At exactly 12:11 CDT the cut down triggered at approximately 75,000 feet as programed. This was helpful since the retrieval took us southeast of Lafayette, IN. A longer flight would have made retrieval and a reasonable return time for the students difficult.

View of Indiana and a cloud front off to the East from the March 21 flight. Lafayette, IN is visible on the far right.

The ascent control system had another switch failure unfortunately. Though the mechanism was redesigned for better reliability, the screw that acted as a pin used to trigger the switch loosened and was lost. Upon retrieval we documented a reduction in the amount of ballast in the system. Some data analysis will be needed to see if there was a single ballast dump and whether that had any recorded effect on the ascent speed. Thanks to Jeff’s GPS data logger we have positioning recorded at a rate of 5 Hz or 5 record per second. This should give the IMSA students the precision needed to deduce whether their unit was effective.

New Lab Procedures Coming Soon

Due to the incredible growth of Far Horizons in the past year, we’ve realized the need for improved procedures for collaborative design, documentation and organization. We’re outgrowing our more informal methods. This should help make all your efforts more effective and transferable to other team members. To begin with, as an example, we’ll be working on protocols for versioning software, archives of technologies and designs, timelines for projects, more efficient project teams, and clear documentation of procedures.

As a first trial in that effort Alan wrote up a nice step-by-step guide to using the MicroDAQ atmospheric data logger this past weekend. He also was able to create a database of all our GoPros, their batteries and SD cards so we can begin keeping track of issues with any combinations we fly. Now that we have that, we’re planning on running a cold test this weekend for all our GoPros and batteries. We’ll have dry ice on hand for the experiments.

On a related note, the 2012 ASW volunteers did an admirable job of diagnosing and testing the high speed features of the GoPro Hero 3 camera this weekend. We now have a better confidence in using this feature for future flights and experiments.

Rocket Time Again

We’re planning another Far Horizons field trip up to the Bong Recreational Area west of Racine, WI to launch some high powered rockets on Sunday, April 21st. The launch, hosted by the folks at WOOSH, is a great opportunity to experience some of the most powerful amatuer rocket launches in the region. The plan is for Mark and me to get our Level 1 certifications. Our other Level 1 certified flyers, Geza and Jeff, will have the opportunity to fly if they’d like, although Geza may want to take the opportunity to see if he can get his rocket down from the tree he lodged in back in September . Jeff may try out some flight electronics. He’s been working on a variety of sensors and experiments including a GPS data logger, pressure sensors for altitude determination and tracking beacons for retrieval.

If anyone is interested in joining the team in the journey up north, there’s a sign up sheet in the lab or you can drop us a comment or email confirming you’d like to come along for this all day event. Deadline to sign up is Monday, April 15th. We’ll try and arrange transportation and I may be able to sweet talk Jeff into setting up the barbeque once again.