PSU Magazine Spring 2006

Eng helium-filled b high-tech payloads to fantastic heights. By John Kirkland groups have now done joint launches. The projects give students great hands– on experience in solving technical problems that can't be done in any other environment. Each high-altitude balloon carries items such as cameras, radio gear, GPS devices-all of which requires commu– nication with the crew on the ground. Temperatures plunge to -60 degrees Fahrenheit when the balloons reach their peak altitude, so someone has to design heaters that will keep the com– ponents working. All the technical gear must be small and lightweight. Weislo– gel limits his balloon teams to six stu– dents or less, so each Learn has a challenging load of puzzles to solve before launch day. Students do most of their problem solving during the 10 weeks leading up to launch day. On the evening before, with their van loaded with gear, they leave PSU and head over the mountains for sagebrush country. Try– ing to sleep is pointless. When they arrive at their designated spot outside of Millican, they have only a few short hours before they have to start prepar– ing for launch, a process that begins around 3:30 a.m. "A lot of the fun is the sleep depri– vation," says student Joshua Hatch, an amateur radio operator, who is on track for a master's degree in mechani– cal engineering this June. "In the van we have the helium tanks, sleeping bags, and a lot of loud music," says Hatch. "Everyone brings music. lt becomes a contest of who can find the cheesiest song in the collec– tion." Which at Limes means actually com– posing one or two. Bob McGown, who studied sand dune formations in Africa from a hot air balloon, is the resident song writer. Among the group he is famous for ditties sung to the tunes of "Satisfaction" and "Yesterday." Ready to launch: The balloon team makes final preparations as the day's first light reaches the Central Oregon desert. Hamming was an easy game to play The anLenna needs a place Lo hide away Oh, Tbelieve in telemetly. R -dawn is ideal for launching bal– loons because of the lack of wind. But that means that the hardest work– assembling all the parts and filling the balloon-is done in the freezing cold by the light of headlamps and lanterns. The balloons, made of latex or polyeth– ylene, can cost $1,000, so the crew is careful not to snag the material on the surrounding brush. Students work according to their specialties: the elec– tronics experts make sure the batteries, antennas, and heaters are in working order. The mechanical experts-includ– ing McGown, an experienced rock climber who knows knots-make sure everything is put together correctly. Then they hook the balloon up to the helium tanks and watch it come to li.fe . Ironically, the pre-dawn hours are good for another purpose. At launch, SPRING 2006 PSU MAGAZINE 13