NSL-35

This was our first flight during the second annual Global Space Balloon Challenge.

Launched the morning of April 12th, 2015, this was a re-flight of NSL-34 only without the Spot Tracker. The payload/chute mass was 125g. A 1600g cell was filled with Hydrogen to ~500g lift. The flight team consisted of Matthew(12) and Paul. We launched from the same park in Yadkinville NC as NSL-34.

We only made it to 132K feet but it was a pretty flight. The winds were very calm and the payload spun very slowly (0.25 rpm).

Post-burst was unusual. The large mass of the 1600g cell thankfully stayed clear of the simple 38cm square chute. As it began to fall, the kite string snapped, separating the payload/chute completely from the latex. Nice ! No tangles to have to deal with.

The payload came down perfectly under this simple chute. The balloon came down in a separate wad.

It was headed for a large, open field... But in true NCnearspace fashion, it stuck in a tall tree mere feet from the field.

Recovery would have been difficult if it were not for the excellent aim by our honorary recovery crew member, Mr. May. A few shotgun pellets coaxed the parachute off of a branch without any harmful effects to the payload.

APRS reception plots courtesy of Ray KC4VTX. These show the reporting stations for the telemetry packets during the flight. Although our transmitter was only about 1W, it was easily received hundreds of miles away because of the high altitude.

Ascent and descent rates showing some nice undulating gravity waves and the pre-burst dip in ascent as the balloon resists further stretching.

Due to the limited insulation and long flight, the battery voltage dropped just below the minimum required camera voltage upon descent. So we didn't get video of the actual landing. Notice the voltage tick back up after the camera load goes offline at 12:40.

Further tests are needed on the on-board temperature sensor -- it apparently doesn't like reporting below freezing.