High altitude balloon images.

[nebulosity.]

G'day,

I'm mad keen on seeing if I could send up a camera on a weather balloon and capturing some images showing the curvature of the earth and the blackness of space.

I reckon it would be a fun project, anyone on here done it before? I'm going to start off with a few small balloons first and then go from there.

Cheers
Jo

[ianB]

I really dont know anything about this sort of thing but i believe you will first need to contact certain authorities, im sure you are not allowed to do this in certain areas as it can be dangerous re aircrart.
Anyway the link below is from a guy that did what you want to do, you may find it of interest.
http://blog.hartleybrody.com/in-space/

ian

[ianB]

http://www.brainstuffshow.com/blog/diy-how-to-launch-a-weather-balloon-into-space/

[Hans Tucker]

I suggest you get in touch with CASA regarding regulations (CASR 101).

I have a vague recollection this topic was discussed before on IIS so maybe try a search of the archives...there might be some good information in those threads. A quick search came up with the following:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=106419

[nebulosity.]

Thanks for the links Ian :thumbsup:

[nebulosity.]

Thanks Hans, yeah, I'm familiar with CASA, I'll make sure it's alright before I do any high alt stuff. Thanks also for the link, a great read.

Jo

[kinetic]

Jo,

here is a thread right up your alley:

I'd suggest contacting Joe Cali on this forum.
Here is some of his amazing stuff that he is involved with:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=100045

Steve

[Pinwheel]

As a pilot I can assure you that an unlicensed & unmanned balloon is legally not allowed over 300' AGL. You will need to do this well away from aircraft transit lanes & will require a transponder on the balloon so RADAR can advise aircraft if a collision is imminent. The transponder will cost more than the whole project is worth.

You could do this if you joined a Rocket club & launched from WOOMERA S.A

[nebulosity.]

Awesome! Thanks steve :thumbsup:

[nebulosity.]

No worries Doug, my brother is also a pilot so no fear of launching in air traffic lanes.

Just to get things straight, I'm not trying to do anything fancy here, just having some fun trying to grab some pics for myself of space from a different perspective.

Cheers
Jo

[aaronkmk]

http://youtu.be/5REsCTG4-Gg. Something like this

[CapturingTheNight]

I'm currently in the planning phase to do a launch with my local astronomy club. The build and launch aspects are the easy part. Getting CASA approval is the biggest issue and it all depends on what you can get your balloon classified as. If you just want to launch a small one with a little transponder on it then their are not too many regulations to adhere too, but start adding in a camera or two, gps transponder so you can track and recover your payload, radar reflector, batteries, etc, weight becomes an issue, so you need a bigger balloon and then you are in to a different class of balloon in CASA's eyes. These then require a lot more regulation, and may even need things like remote cut down switches to end the flight immediately at the request of air traffic control. These things don't go straight up and straight down again. I have been running simulations for my area and once had a balloon travel 300km to the east on a single standard flight. Yes you might not launch into a flight path but what about when it's coming back down? These are all things you will need to consider and research beforehand. Good luck.

[Pinwheel]

You will be needing third party insurance in case your balloon injures or kills someone including damage to property, Good luck with that one!