ATHENS, Ala. (AP) - A minnow bucket, duct tape and hand warmers may seem fitting for a winter fishing trip, but they also came in handy for an Athens High engineering project.
Teacher Michael May’s Engineering II class used the items to send a payload of three video cameras and a global positioning system to the edge of space with a weather balloon.
Students Robert Autrey, Reggie Battles, Conlon Farmer and Benton Key created a video of the ascent, the curvature of the Earth and the darkness of space.
“The project was about learning the engineering process,” May said. “They had to write progress reports and keep an engineering notebook.”
The students researched how to send the 2½-pound payload into the stratosphere and back without burning up or freezing the electronic instruments. Admittedly, this class had an advantage: It used lessons learned during a previous class’s unsuccessful attempt.
“The balloon went up too slowly, so the electronics overheated and shut off so we only got 45 minutes of video,” May said of the first attempt.
Autrey said the duct tape and Styrofoam bucket withstood their heat tests, but they weren’t enough to insulate against the cold.
They added four hand warmers, which heated the payload interior to more than 100 degrees. They tested the payload in the school cafeteria freezer.
Battles said they had to figure out how much helium would be required to send the weather balloon up 20 miles above the Earth.
“We adjusted the amount of helium so it would go up faster,” Battles said.
They didn’t want the balloon to drift too far from Athens on its return or crash too hard, but they wanted it to return fast enough so the electronics still were operating. They chose a 3-foot parachute.
Drop tests from the top of Golden Eagle Stadium gave them confidence the payload would survive the landing. Zip ties held the cameras, and Velcro held the GPS in place. A portable charger kept the electronics running. They used Plexiglas for the camera windows.
“It had a dent in the bottom (after landing), but that was the only damage,” Battles said.
On April 26, it was go-time as they sent their payload off from the football field on a two-hour trip.
The payload took about 90 minutes to reach its height. The video shows the balloon popping and the beginning of a 23-minute descent.
May and his students each gave their prediction on where and how far away from Athens the payload would land.
Autrey was closest in his prediction: Gurley, in Madison County. It came down in Section, 60 miles from Athens.
Their teacher was the farthest off with his prediction. He thought it would stay in Limestone County.
“They learned how much winds change as you go higher in the atmosphere and how difficult it is to predict where the payload will go,” May said.
Tracking the GPS online, May directed a Jackson County Sheriff’s Department deputy via the phone to the payload.
“We learned that we can control many of the variables, but you can’t control everything,” Autrey said.
“You have to do a lot of research, analysis and teamwork when you’re working on a project like this.”
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Information from: The Decatur Daily, https://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
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