…..and back!

Thanks to the determination of Mr. Nendick, the balloon was recovered intact this evening from Tebbetts, MO (east of Jefferson City). We had a pretty good idea as to the location of the fallen balloon, but simply ran out of time late last night in trying to recover it. Tim returned today, used a little math and physics, determined the exact location of the balloon, and found a way to get it down from a large tree.

Weather Balloon Landed in a Tree

As you may have heard, the balloon was in flight for over 4 hours, reached an altitude in the stratosphere of 100,000 feet, and landed after a flight of almost 200 miles. What is most impressive is that this work, which sent this balloon to the edge of space, was done by our students. It was their engineering and use of science that produced a payload that could withstand the altitude and cold of the upper atmosphere and produce one that could function throughout the entire flight, remaining intact. Our students never cease to amaze me.

Preparing the Weather Balloon Weather Balloon Liftoff

Enjoy the attached pictures. The two inflight pictures are from about 3,000 feet and 100,000 feet. Notice on the picture from the highest point of the flight how you can see the blue of the atmosphere below the balloon as well as the darkness of space. Very impressive.

Weather Balloon at 3,000 ft Weather Balloon in the Stratosphere, 100,000 ft