Sunday, October 30, 2011

Staying on the Edge of Space for a Long Time

What is the difference between flying to the edge of space on a platform like this one:






and this one ?





How about 15 hours (+) of stabilized flight at 120,000 feet above the ground. I did some computation of what it would mean to use a more recent camera on board that flight a year ago. But it looks like people are still amazed that five years ago, you could take a moderately high price camera to make some good looking shots. Take a look at what you can do when 100 of these shots are automatically stitched together into a panorama map. If you want to do better than we did five years ago and there are a lot of ways to do so with some camera like this one or the new GoPro2, some arduino kit, here is your chance in the new HASP program. From Greg Guzik:


Please find attached here the Call for Payloads (CFP) for the September 2012 flight of the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP). HASP can support up to 12 student payloads (providing power, telemetry and commanding) during a flight to an altitude of 124,000 feet for up to 20 hours. We anticipate flying HASP with the assistance of NASA Balloon Program Office for at least the next three years (2012 through 2014). There is no cost for launch and flight operations. Student teams will need to raise their own funds to support the development of their payload and for travel to Palestine, TX for HASP integration and Ft. Sumner, NM for flight operations.

Details about previous HASP flights and the student payloads flown can be found on the “Flight Information” page of the HASP website at http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/Flightinfo-2011.php Details on the payload constraints and interface with HASP as well as online access to the CFP materials can be found on the “Participant Info” page of the HASP website at http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/Participantinfo.php

Applications are due December 16, 2011 and selections will be announced by mid-January 2012.

If you have any questions about the application materials or HASP, feel free to contact us at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu

We will also be conducting a Q&A Teleconference about HASP and the application process on Friday, November 11, 2011 at 10:00 am (central time). Groups who have previously flown on HASP as well as new organizations should plan on attending this teleconference. To participate, dial in to 1-866-717-2684 a few minutes prior to the conference time. When requested enter the conference ID number 6879021 followed by the # key.

Also please forward this e-mail to any others that you fee might be interested in applying.

Cheers,
Greg Guzik

All of our photos are stored here.



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