SWETrak: High-Altitude Balloon Payload Chelsea Dutenhoffer Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Arizona Space Grant Symposium April 19, 2008

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Purpose Objective Receive GPS data from satellites Transmit position and altitude to ground Requirements Reusable Reliable Light-weight April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Payload Design Radio ALINCO DJ-S40 GPS Unit SparkFun Eval Board Trimble Lassen iQ Receiver Position Encoder Byonics TinyTrak 4 Battery Pack GPS Antenna & Ground Plane April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Structure Foam core inner box E-glass outer box Lamp rod attaches payload to balloon Hole in bottom for radio antenna & ground plane April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Testing TinyTrak, Radio, & GPS Set payload to transmit, then put outside so GPS can acquire data Use handheld radio connected to Hyperterminal to verify data was received Temperature test Held in temperature chamber at -20º F for 30 minutes Took payload outside and verified data transfer April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Flight and Recovery SWETrak Balloon reached 81,000 ft GPS problems GPS data led chase teams to the payloads All payloads were recovered April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Future SWETrak will be checked for loose connections SWETrak will fly again Knowledge and experience will be applied toward future payloads The ultimate goal is to build and launch a student satellite April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium

Arizona Space Grant Symposium Questions April 19, 2008 Arizona Space Grant Symposium