Activities and News
9/2/2009 – We have officially started AHAB! We have about 10 new people and everyone has a position. We are currently working to get the current system in working condition for our first launch on October 3rd!
8/26/2009 – We had our recruitment meeting last night and it was very successful. We recruited approximately 10 people for AHAB and have filled most of the positions we needed. Our first official meeting is tomorrow night, Thursday August 27th at 5:30pm with the old timers meeting at 5:00pm. We will have an introduction of AHAB and begin our scheduling for the fall!
8/14/2009 – Sorry for the lack of updates. We will be having our Recruitment Meeting Tuesday, August 25th at 6:00pm in Allison 306! It is the building connected to Parker Hall. We will be having free pizza and drinks and welcome all! We are looking for management positions and technical positions. Engineers and Physicists welcome! Also, if you are interested in management, no technical background needed! We will teach you everything you need to know. Dr. Wersinger, our mentor, will be visiting the Engineering Physics classes this upcoming week. Old timers meeting will be Thursday, August 20th at 5:30pm in Allison 306. Look here for more updates once meetings commence! Our first official meeting with new members is August 27th!
10/26/2008 – Today was our first mooring of the semester!! We’ve implemented many new things to our system, and today was the day we tested them. Some highlights were that our cut-down worked, we got still pictures, video, and data from our sensors. We have a few glitches to work out before we launch, but at least we’re on the right track. Our first planned launch will be Dec.6th, unless we can find a Sunday that’s not a football weekend or Thanksgiving weekends to launch.
8/08 – We’re all excited to start a new semester with some new faces on the team! We’re planning on perfecting our design and system to launch one or two times this semester, and to launch some high school experiments in the Spring! Be on the lookout for some news in the future!
4/08 – the structure was completely redesigned. The new structure boasts a greater durability and simplicity and was a great success!
3/09/08 – Launch! The AHAB system, beaconing call sign KI4NQO-11 as well as KI4NQO on 144.390 MHz, will fly yet again! Launch will be from the site of our friends at Weedon Field in Eufaula, AL, and is projected to land just east of I-75 in Georgia. The balloon and payload should lift off at approximately 7:45 local time, with three chase groups in tow. If you happen to hear it on 2m radio (which shouldn’t be too hard), feel free to let us know and help us track, get in on the fun!
02/24/08 – Mooring
01/14/08 – Plans have now been set in place for the Spring 2008 semester of the Auburn High Altitude Balloon project. Three system launches, as well as a test mooring, are planned. The newly-built communications and command/data handling systems will be completed, installed, and tested. Also, our science mission will be reformatted toward a specific atmospheric-testing related goal, and the science subsystem will be greatly expanded. Finally, we have also formed a partnership with Tallassee High School of Tallassee, Alabama, which will lead to outreach testing of their experiments. More details will be given out at the AUSSP recruitment, and other following, meetings.
04/23/07 – AHAB had a launch this past Saturday that traveled from Eufaula, AL (Google Map) to south of Sasser, GA (Google Map). The payload was successfully recovered, and our system worked very well for the launch. The balloon did not travel as far as we predicted and the team made a speedy recovery. Although a couple problems were found with the system they have been discussed and overall the launch was a great success.
04/16/07 – A new announcement about the upcoming launch has been posted here!
04/09/07 – “AHAB’s balloon, rigging, and tracking system/payload were successfully moored today. What is a mooring, you ask? A good explanation can be found here. To us a balloon system mooring means a complete system test away from the lab and out in the environment in which we will be launching. All areas of operation were tested, including ground tracking capabilities, on-board position reporting capabilities via our primary and secondary tracking beacons, , on-board digipeating capabilities, and the functionality of our cut-down systems. Also tested successfully was our newest structure and rigging assembly. Having passed with flying colors, AHAB now moves on to launch preperation. The first scheduled possible launch date is 21 April, 2007.”
03/10/07 – The first announcement of Spring 2007 launch plans has been made. You can read the announcement here. Our thanks go out to WB4LNM for his help with coordinating the release, and also to those who have already responded!
01/16/07 – The design phase for the newest generation of our High Altitude Balloon launcher and tracking system is underway! Goals include the ability to withstand temperatures of the high altitude environment, down to -70 degrees C, for up to six hours, the ability to take still photographs reliably during flight,the addition of a secondary, wireless, cutdown system, and the development of a launcher structure capable of being modified for use with future systems that we may dream up.