KWU Physics Club is going for altitude record
with upcoming balloon launch

MEDIA CONTACT: Leslie Eikleberry, Director of Public Relations, 785-827-5541 ext. 1127

April 3, 2008

The Kansas Wesleyan University Physics Club has its sights set high for its upcoming balloon launch.

The club plans to launch its third balloon at 8 a.m. April 12 in Martin Stadium. The launch is open to the public at no charge.

This time, however, club members hope their balloon will soar to a new amateur balloon altitude record, according to Dr. Susan McDonald, Chair in the Department of Mathematics and Physic.

“We are lightening up the load and going for altitude this time,” McDonald said.

She explained that the Physics Club members wanted to see what modifications they needed to try to break the altitude record.

“They are making two changes – mass of the payload and the balloon lift.  The balloon lift is determined by the amount of helium and the mass of the balloon including payload,” McDonald said. “This is a good exercise in engineering for these students as they work on modifying their experiment and see the impact on the balloon altitude.”

In December 2006, the Kansas Wesleyan Physics Club, with the help of the Salina Ham Radio Club, launched its first high altitude balloon, which carried a payload consisting of a video camera, a temperature logger, and a GPS tracking device. The multi-faceted experiment was designed as a fun way for students to study the Earth’s atmosphere. Additionally, some of the University’s pre-engineering students used the experiment as their final design project. The group tracked the balloon from its launch at Martin Stadium to western Missouri, where the GPS signal was lost. With the help of Ham Radio operators, the balloon and payload eventually were found in a field in western Illinois.

In November 2007, the group launched another balloon, this time carrying a payload that included temperature probes, an accelerometer, a video camera, and a GPS transmitter. The balloon came down in rural Lyon County, a few miles northwest of Emporia. The project was able to gather data on location, altitude, and temperature both inside and outside the payload, McDonald said. The group was interested in the inside temperature because prior to the launch, a hand warmer was added to provide heat for the measuring instruments.

McDonald said the current altitude record for an amateur balloon is 120,522 feet set in March 1999.  For more information about amateur balloon launch records, please go to http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/ARHABrecords.htm .