We have set the initial set of launch windows for our High Altitude Balloon’s 4th flight (HAB-4) for the following three weekends in April:
- Saturday, April 6th / Sunday, April 7th
- Saturday, April 13th / Sunday, April 14th
- Saturday, April 20th
- Saturday, June 1st / Sunday, June 2nd
- Saturday, June 8th/Sunday, June 9th
Students at Hudson Memorial School and Bishop-Guertin HS are both participating in our HAB-4 STEM program.
We will again be launching from the Elementary School in Winchester, NH at around 10:30 am. Preparation for our launch will begin at 8:30 am.
Our HAB carries video cameras that allow us to see what the HAB sees as it travels through the atmosphere. You can click on the video above to see what a HAB flight is like including video taken at over 90,000 ft above sea level!
High Altitude Balloon 4 (HAB-4) will be the first to launch with our new camera insulating and heating system. This arrangement is intended to keep the cameras from freezing and shutting off early. The cameras will also carry the smaller, lighter weight batteries that we used on HAB-1. Together, we hope these improvements will allow us to capture video throughout HAB-4’s ascent, balloon burst, descent, and landing.
The graphic above shows the final flight parameters for HAB-4. We are expecting HAB-4 to burst at around 110,000 ft a.s.l. with the flight lasting about 2 1/2 hours.
The images above show the initial flight path predictions for the first HAB-4 launch window. The weather and Jetstream forecasts are still fairly unreliable at this point (6 – 7 days in advance of the first launch windows). These will likely change quite a bit between now and this coming Thursday evening when we will make a final go/no-go launch decision for the April 6th / April 7th launch window. We will also be looking closely at the Ground Weather for acceptable ground wind speed under 15 mph at launch and either clear skies or limited cloud cover to permit HAB-4 to be launched.
The HAB will again be carrying a flight computer and APRS telemetry and tracking system. You will be able to track HAB-4 during its flight via aprs.fi. You can learn more about how to track our HABs here.
Stay tuned to our Forums for additional updates and the final go/no-go decision as the week progresses. If the first launch window does not work out, we’ll begin counting down to the second window (April 13th / April 14th). We hope that you’ll join us in Winchester, NH for our launch!
Fred, AB1OC
