We have been  approached to assist in the tracking and recovery of a High Altitude Balloon that will be launched with the purpose of photographing the last launch of the Endeavor shuttle mission on Friday, 29-April-2011. The launch is sponsored by the organization Quest for the Stars, Inc – a California non-profit Organization that focuses on introducing students to Math and the Sciences.

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The balloon will probably be launched from an area close to Chiefland, FL then rise to an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet, then  is expected to make a landing in an area from southern St. Johns  to northern Volusia Counties – with the anticipated LZ being in the Palm Coast area.

We will be supporting the recovery effort by tracking the payload via APRS, then protecting the payload for turnover to the Quest for Stars staff. At this time, we will not be releasing the call-sign of the payload, so as to protect the integrity of the payload’s camera and electronics payload, since the recovered video will be used for student education, as well as the Challenger Foundation.

Any amateurs who are interested in joining in the tracking and recovery efforts should contact the event Incident Commander – Phil (K5BBC) at philmcelrath@natca.net for more information as well as an official tasking. FEMV staff are encouraged to join, as this will be excellent training in Search and Recovery – a skill that may well be needed in times of natural disaster or events such as downed-aircraft searches. Troy Harper from Flagler EOC has been informed of this event and although not an officially sanctioned FEMV event, I would not be surprised if he were to monitor the progress of this event for it’s training benefits.

Phil will be releasing more details in the coming days, as we expect a Daily Update from the Launch Director starting Monday the 25th, until just prior to launch time on the 29th. The entire schedule is subject to change, based on the progress of the STS-134 mission, but if everything stays on schedule, Shuttle launch should be at 15:47 local time. The latest information regarding the balloon is that they will arrive at the launch site in Chiefland at Noon, with a target launch time of 14:47 (60 minutes prior to Shuttle Launch). The balloon is expected to reach the edge of space, then start it’s downward trajectory back toward earth.

Although this should not be required, a simple reminder might be in order – this payload and all of it’s contents, are the property of the Quest for Stars organization – we are not authorized to open it, inspect it or deliver it to anybody other than their designated representatives. If and when found, the location should be immediately secured and the location communicated to the Incident Commander (Phil – K5BBC). Unless the location of the payload poses a threat to life or property, it should not be moved until Quest-for-Stars staff arrive to take possession of the payload. I know that we would request the same courtesy of others assisting in recovering OUR property – so it stands that we should give John and his organization the same level of respect and consideration.  All amateurs who are not directly tasked with the recovery effort, but who happen on the payload (e.g., it lands in your back yard ) should contact Phil on a local repeater, on DStar, or on the phone (he will post all phone numbers prior to the event).

Many thanks to all of you in advance for your willingness to help – this should be a fun and educational event for all who choose to participate..!!

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On Apr 17, 2011, at 10:23 PM, John Pugh wrote:

Hi Mike,

I work with a Non-Profit group called Quest for Stars(http://www.questforstars.com). We travel the world introducing students to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. We primarily use weather balloons to launch a scientific payload to the edge of space and recover it.

The reason I’m writing is we are launching a balloon to capture the launch of the last flight of Endeavor. In conjunction with the Challenger Foundation and other sponsors we will be launching a balloon from the east coast of Florida (likely somewhere around Chiefland, FL) and recovering it somewhere around Palm Coast, FL. This was the trajectory of the balloon launched earlier this year, however we will not know the exact launch site or path until a few days prior as it depends on upper atmosphere winds.

On board the payload we have a APRS setup that will allow us to track the unit from launch to recovery and would like to have some local people available at the recovery area to track it until we can get across the state. This will likely provide press coverage and can help in providing a search and rescue training exercise if so desired.I will be the local coordinator for this launch.

Thanks…JP

John Pugh