A group of Canadian space enthusiasts, students and weather balloon aficionados will launch two high altitude craft Saturday morning with a eye toward breaking the record they set in November.
Depending on the weather, the balloons could land somewhere in Maine.
“They could go anywhere,” said Peter McCracken, an amateur space enthusiast from Perth, Ontario, Canada. “We’re watching the jet stream, so that gives us some clues. Usually, it’s someplace in the East.”
The group of students, teachers and parents calling itself the Lanark Space Agency has launched eight high-altitude weather balloons since 2008.
The balloon launched from Perth last November, LASA 8, rose to an altitude of 130,903 feet — that’s more than 24 miles up — just west of the Maine border before popping and coming to a rest in a field just off Intervale Road in Jay. It was a record for the group, the highest altitude one of their craft had reached.
Each balloon carries a high-tech payload that includes a GPS and HAM radio transmitter — so the team can find it — cameras and thermometers.
This year, the team is launching two balloons. The first, LASA 9, will carry a larger HAM transmitter. Instead of broadcasting just location data, it will send out an audio signal, recorded greetings from Perth-area students involved in the launch. HAM radio enthusiasts can listen to the signal on 447.200 Mhz.
“We have a little bit bigger transmitter this time, about three watts,” McCracken said. “On the ground, you should be able to hear it for 40 miles or so because of all the interference from buildings and trees. But when we get it up high, that signal could go hundreds of miles.”
The second balloon, LASA 10, will carry a GPS, transmitter and camera to capture high-altitude photographs.
Liftoff is scheduled for 9 a.m. Eastern time. Two teams will set out after the launch tracking the balloons so they can be recovered.
Both flights can be tracked via a link from the group’s Web site, http://lanarkspace.wordpress.com. On the map, the LASA 9 is being identified by the call sign VE3REX-11. LASA 10’s call sign is VE3LCA-111.
LASA Links
Students, parents and teachers from Perth, Ontario, Canada will launch a pair of high-altitude weather balloon at 9 a.m. Saturday morning from a Perth parking lot.
At least two of the group’s eight balloons have landed in Maine.
Launch status and news will be posted to the Internet.
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