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Why would anybody be interested in this stuff? I just don’t know, but this launch was another blast and this Jr. High science teacher, and his colleagues, and his students, have got it together.

It was a teacher in service day for the Lake Oswego (L.O.) students, basically their day off, but they showed up anyway at the Jr. High for the early morning launch. The overfilled hydrogen balloon was let loose at 8:06AM, Dec. 5, 2008. At almost 1,500ft/min it hit over 113,000ft elevation before bursting, the payloads and parachute being tracked to a landing 50-some miles due south in Scio, Oregon. Educators Sharon McCready and Blake Nelson spotted the eerie parachute, shredded balloon, and three colorful experiment boxes as they floated over Centennial Elementary School during recess. Soon ~ 120 kids were clamoring about “Aliens!” just as the PSU van drove by. We got out, explained ourselves, but certainly shared in the excitement. Kids faces make me think the future is going to be fine. The L.O. bus arrived shortly thereafter and we collected the payloads from the adjacent field. By invitation, we then reported back to Centennial where L.O. teacher Greg Mylet introduced his students who gave perfect impromptu presentations to the whole school (~240 students) during both lunch periods. The experiments were definitely of interest to the kids: popcorn, jello, cell phones, ink pens, … and light bulbs in space. Most importantly, every kid got to see the astro-cock roach ‘who’ for the second time now has flown to over 100,000ft. That was the most natural serendipitous outreach.

The tracks for the balloon and LPSU chase vehicle are included here and a few images from the PSU camera. I like the one with both L.O. and Portland in it!

Here are the stats…

LPSU…3000g latex balloon, Hydrogen filled, ~4lb free lift
Total payload 3.72kg (8.2lb),
Old tracker box (radio, antenna, gps, heater): 847g
New tracker box (w/ camera and two gps units): 1431g
Dog tracker: 111g
Parachute: 126g
Total payload mass: 3714g

L.O. payload: 1.15kg
Experiments: involve…jello, popcorn, ink pens, cell phone, cock roach, …

Launch time: 8:05:58 PST, 12/05/2008
Initial rise rate: 1365ft/min
Max. elevation: 113,012ft (9:45:10)
Final descent rate: 1495ft/min
Landing time: 10:17:25 PST
Total flight time: 131.45min
Ground distance: 50.6 miles nearly due south