EOSS-280 with eight student payloads weighting 14.32 pounds, two GPS-equipped radio beacons, and a 12 ft. parachute was launched on a 3000 gram balloon from the Deer Trail, CO launch site (N39° 36.63', 104° 2.53') at an elevation of 5,211 feet at 06:53 AM MST on Nov. 4, 2018. The last packet received before balloon burst was at 8:23 AM at an altitude of 106,717 ft. after an ascent averaging 1223 ft./min. Both the burst altitude and ascent rate were above average for a 3000g balloon. The maximum recorded speed was 123 mph at 7:16 AM at an altitude of 36,836 ft. on ascent. This is a bit higher speed than is usually seen and at a bit lower altitude. The parachute and flight string touched down at 9:02 AM at N38° 52.47', W103° 1.97' and were recovered at an elevation of 5,055 ft. after a flight lasting 2 hr. and 9 min. The straight line distance between the launch site and touchdown point was 74 miles. The touchdown point was about 15 miles northwest of the town of Kit Carson, CO (N38° 45.93', W102° 47.64'). The flight string touched down with a vertical speed of 1120 ft/min and a horizontal speed of 14 miles per hour.
Update 11/3/18 1930: Payload plans for 280 Heavy and 281 Lite updated to Rev D. Added a payload and updated weights. Remember to set your clocks back before going to bed tonight!Windy conditions at Deer Trail Saturday morning would make fill difficult, therefore we will shift to Sunday morning for more favorable conditions. Predictions are still showing cloud cover, but may be closer to allowing a heavy balloon launch. A decision has been made to identify Deer Trail as the likely launch site. With an earlier sunrise, we will shift Launch time to 0700.One non-exempt Heavy balloon carrying all Intro to Space payloads, if the skys are clear. If clouds exceed 5/10ths the day of the launch, two exempt Lite balloons will be launched, each carrying one of the Intro to Space classes. If cloudy, the balloons will be:
Flight and tracking information are available at this link: http://wxqa.com/eoss280.html Some of the links will not be active until flight day.
3000g balloon with Intro to Space payloads (both classes)
Frequency | Callsign | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
144.905 MHz | KCØD-1 | Remote Release/DF | Secondary Beacon |
144.340 MHz | AEØSS-13 Lite | APRS/Digi EOSS | Primary Beacon |
EOSS Preflight Net @ 8 PM MDT preceding night:
• 449.225 MHz (-5 MHz Offset, 141.3 Hz Tone ) RMHAM Repeater
• 146.940 MHz (-600 KHz Offset, 103.5 Hz Tone) RMRL Repeater if the RMHAM machine is down
• 146.640 MHz (-600 KHz Offset, 100.0 Hz Tone) DRL Repeater will serve as a backup to the backup repeater
Launch Site:
• 446.050 MHz Simplex
(Note that some radios assume these are repeater frequencies and attempt to put a 5 MHz offset in the transmit frequency automatically)
Track & Recovery Operations:
Repeaters:
• 449.450 MHz (-5 MHz Offset, 103.5 Hz Tone) RMRL repeater (Assuming we are flying out of Windsor).
• 448.450 MHz (-5 MHz Offset, 100.0 Hz Tone) PPFMA repeater (Assuming we are flying out of Deer Trail).
Simplex Frequencies:
• 446.100 MHz Balloon #1 Field Simplex
• 446.150 MHz Balloon #2 Field Simplex
• 446.200 MHz Balloon #3 Field Simplex
• 446.275 MHz Car to Car drive out Simplex
(Note that some radios assume these are repeater frequencies and attempt to put a 5 MHz offset in the transmit frequency automatically)
2M Direction Finding Frequencies:
Tactical | Call Sign | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Alpha | WAØGEH, KCØD | Marty, Mark | 00:07 Tracking Coordinator |
Bravo | W9CN, KBØYRZ, NØJPS | Mike, Chris, John | 00:12 Trackers, Alpha Backup |
Charlie | KDØSEM | Dave | 00:17 Launch, Tracker |
Delta | KØSCC, NØLP | Stephen, Nick | 00:22 Launch, Tracker |
Echo | KEØORB | John, Nancy | 00:27 Tracker |
Foxtrot | N6BA | Jeff | 00:32 Tracker SDR |
Golf | NB4V | Braedon | 00:37 Tracker |
Hotel | KE7KCK | Tom | 00:42 Tracker |
India | 00:47 Tracker | ||
Texas | KCØL | John | Tracker in Texas |