Introduction
Preparation before conducting work
in the field is essential for ensuring that it is a success and decreasing the
chance of something going wrong. This study focuses on the steps of constructing
a high altitude balloon and launching it into the upper reaches of the Earth’s
atmosphere. Although the planning and actual construction of the model is not
as exciting as the launch portion, this is one of the most important phases of
the project and will help in getting desired results. This report will include a
step by step description of the methods on the model’s planning process, the
materials used, and its construction.
Methodology
There are numerous steps in the
planning process and construction of a high altitude balloon launch (HABL).
This study gave the class an opportunity to work together as a group on the
specific pieces of the model. Although the model is not yet complete, the
project’s progress is laid out in the following methods: gathering the needed
materials for constructing the rig, payload weight of all materials, design layout,
and the construction of HABL rig.
The first method consists of
gathering the materials to construct the rig or in other words, the base of the
model that will hold the camera and take aerial pictures of the earth. The
largest part of the rig is a Styrofoam cooler, which will contain the camera
and most of the payload weight inside. Another essential material is a digital
camera that will take pictures from above the earth and document the altitude
of the model based on the difference in size of the features on land. Other
materials include a hot knife foam cutter, a 1.5 by 17.5 inch piece of Styrofoam,
7 packs of hand warmers, 16 gigabyte memory card (stored inside the digital
camera), rubber bands, tape, rope (150 feet), and a Leatherman knife. Figure 1
displays one of the hand warmers that will be used in the HABL rig. The purpose
of these is to keep the digital camera battery warm when it ascends high in the
atmosphere.
The
second method is to weigh the materials to determine the overall payload weight
of the entire model. An exact payload weight is important for deciding the size
of the balloon to use for the launch. With this in mind, our group had to be
careful in choosing which materials would be significant enough to include in
the rig. The digital camera without the memory card is the heaviest item in the
model weighing 392.17 grams. That item along with the other materials for the
HABL rig is shown in Figure 2. The hand warmers came in a close second in
adding to the overall weight, but that is because our group came to the
conclusion that seven of them should be plenty for keeping the temperature
around the camera reasonable for it to function. Although our group goal of the
entire HABL model was to be less than two pounds, the total end weight of all
the materials added together equaled 2.08 pounds or 944.34 grams.
Figure
2: Total Payload Weight of the HABL materials
The
third method is the design layout of the HABL rig. There were about 4 or 5
people in our group who all shared their input on how to put the rig together
with the right pieces. We took it piece by piece and figured on how the model
would be put together in the process of constructing it. We used our critical
thinking skills and knowledge of putting together a HABL rig that was
constrained to a payload weight limit (~2 pounds). Although we did not have a
set step by step plan on how to construct the model, we came up with the ideas
along the way as construction of the rig progressed.
The
last method is the actual construction of the rig. Our group started out with
the Styrofoam cooler, which measured about a foot and a half in height and less
than a foot in width. A small hole at the bottom of the cooler was cut to the
size large enough for the camera lens to fit and take quality aerial pictures,
which is shown in Figure 3. The hole was measured by pressing the camera into
the bottom of the cooler so that it would be indented and we would have an outline
revealing the exact size that the hole needed to be cut out at.
Figure
3: An opening for the camera lens at the bottom of the HABL rig
The next step in the construction phase is to cut out a Styrofoam
chunk from a rectangular piece that was available. This was done by placing the
cooler on top of the rectangle Styrofoam board and tracing the bottom of it,
shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Trace of the Styrofoam Rig
After that was
complete, we took a hot knife foam cutter and sliced into the Styrofoam board
at a small angle (Figure 5). The trace at an angle is done because the
circumference of the cooler expands from the base to the top. Although the
angle of the cut was our best estimate, the Styrofoam piece ended up fitting
inside the cooler on top of the camera and hand warmers nicely. The purpose of
this material is to prevent any movement of the camera at the bottom and to
take up empty space inside the rig. Also since this was done in a carpeted
classroom, we placed the Styrofoam piece on top of an opened box when doing the
cutting for safety and stability reasons.
Figure 5: Traced Styrofoam Board (Stability piece) cut at an angle
Discussion
With the combined ability of
critical thinking and working together in groups the completion of the
preparation phase of the HABL model was a success. There are a lot ways one can
build this type of model and have it launched high into the atmosphere; however
we believe that our model fits the payload weight criteria and should serve its
purpose of taking quality aerial pictures from above. This project allowed us
to construct a HABL rig by improvising with the materials that were provided
thus giving us many different approaches to take for building it. We considered
putting more material in the rig to take up the empty space and stabilize the vital
contents at the bottom (camera and hand warmers), however we found that the Styrofoam
piece gave it enough stability without adding significant payload weight. One
con of the rig is not knowing where it will land once it descends back to earth’s
surface because we will want to retrieve the photos that were taken during its
journey. The next step in the preparation process will be to connect the rig to
the inflated balloon and launch it to the sky.
Conclusion
With most of the preparation and
construction of the HABL model complete, the field work phase is ready to begin
with its launch from UWEC. Communication between the group members is essential
to the project’s success because a design layout has to be agreed on before the
other methods of constructing it can be conducted. I have taken a lot out of
the first half of this project by learning the importance of preparation before
embarking on work in the field.
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