[K3PZN-List] Local High-Altitude Balloon Information Update

[Kilroy, Patrick L. (GSFC-5680)]

http://www.ftmchenrycap.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=80

High-Altitude Balloon Launch in Maryland this 
Saturday morning, October 22!  

Flight director: Josh Neel, KB3VTP 
Mission designation: CHASE-1 
Flight Crew: Civil Air Patrol squadron (youth) 
. . . . . . . "Ft. McHenry" from Catonsville, Md.  

HERE IS THE LINK from my short presentation last 
night at the GARC meeting.  The balloon callsign is 
KB3VTP-11.  Watch for N8PK-9 chasing it on APRS at 
http://aprs.fi/?call=n8pk*&mt=roadmap&z=11&timerange=259200&_s=ss_call
along with others on the recovery team.  

You may monitor the CCARC repeater, K3PZN/R on 
145.410 MHz FM, probably any time after 9 or 
10 A.M. EDT to compare notes.  

>From the launch site ten miles west of Hagerstown, 
MD, we hope to launch by ten, but it is Josh's and 
his young squadron's first high-altitude balloon, so 
who knows if we will run into any delays.  (But then 
again, the payload is not very "field repairable" so it 
either works or it doesn't.)  The filling operations 
-- the real-time "On the Job Training" -- will be the 
driving factor in the actual release time, next to 
weather conditions at the launch site and down range.  

Position packets will be received before launch by 
the nearby N3KTX-4 node, thanks to Mike Garber.  The 
launch coordination repeater will be 442.650+ on the 
same hilltop as N3KTX-4.  While in chase we may switch 
over to the K3PZN/R in Westminster as it flies by.  

Flight downlinks: 144.390 MHz FM and 433.920 MHz AM.  

If you'd like to participate on a chase team then 
give me a call ASAP.  Otherwise, please enjoy watching 
the events unfold from the comfort of your home.  Use 
the repeaters and Web links as your controls.  

Happy hunting!  

Cheers,

Pat Kilroy
N8PK
High-Altitude Experiments Advisor


Josh Neel's "CHASE-1" Info Page under AEROSPACE EDUCATION
http://www.ftmchenrycap.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=80

Other Good Links: 

WEATHER at Launch Site
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=21722 or 
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Clear+Spring&state=MD&site=LWX&lat=39.6559&lon=-77.9311

WINDS ALOFT (Jet Stream) major contributor to track
http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/US/2xpxJetStream.html

VISIBILITY
http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/Northeast/2xpxVisibility.html

METAR (Key for launch GO or NO GO)
http://www.wunderground.com/Aviation/index.html?query=KFDK#METAR

We will watch the METAR for Hagerstown (HGR), Frederick (FDK), 
Westminster (DMW) and Philadelphia (PHL).  The payload is 
not expected to venture near Baltimore-Washington (BWI).  
METAR explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/METAR

FLIGHT RULES in effect
http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/Northeast/2xFlight.html


-----------------------------------------
Mr. Patrick L. Kilroy
Flight Systems Integration and Test (I&T)
Building 5, Mail Code 568
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
Phone: 301-286-1984
E-mail: Patrick.L.Kilroy at nasa.gov
-----------------------------------------

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