Long Trail School students travel to space and back.

On May 7, Thad Gibson and Christine Blust of Long Trail School launched a high altitude balloon over Southern Vermont with hopes of collecting atmospheric information and video footage.  Their project was developed in conjunction with their teacher Scott Worland and Mike Fortney of U.V.M. and the HELiX/EPSCoR high school outreach program.  Since last summer, Thad and Christine have been dabbling in “Cricket Satellite” design.  These small devices can transmit radio signals that can be received from the ground to track instruments during flight.  Along with ultraviolet light sensors, their payload contained two digital cameras to document still and motion pictures throughout the flight. 

From the school grounds, constant transmissions were received throughout the approximately 2.5 hour flight.  With the help of a HAM radio and GPS unit, the balloon could be followed online as it traveled southwest toward the Vermont, New York and Massachusetts border.  At one point the balloon was traveling over 75 miles an hour.  The highest altitude reading was 107,000 feet.

After finishing an exciting school day, their teacher Scott Worland set out to recover the payload.   He was faced with a short time period during which the HAM radio could transmit coordinates once within a short range of the device.  Unable to secure a reliable transmission, Scott’s hope was fading.  Perhaps, he thought, he might be able to pick up on the signals being sent by the Cricket Satellite units that his students built as opposed to the radio.  Sure enough he heard the tones and was hot on its track.  As dusk gave way to darkness he finally spotted the unit hanging 50 feet from a tree.  With the amazing generosity and assistance of resident William Sharper of Petersburgh New York, he was able to bring the payload to the ground and recover the data and equipment.

Students were in awe of the over 200 images and 160 video clips logged by the onboard cameras.  At this altitude, one can clearly see the blackness of space against the blue/gray earth below.

Can you recognize your back yard?

People are encouraged to send information about the land features seen throughout the flight to sworland@longtrailschool.org

Flight Path Mapped with Onboard GPS Unit