Engineering Experiences and Lessons Learned from 2023 Annular Eclipse Ballooning

Zachary Owen Dickinson; Hannah Paige Jacobs; Sara Jones; Damien Thiên Ân Chu; Hunter Dawson Yaple; Andrew Donald Snowdy; Zoey McClain; Nicholas B Conklin; Wookwon Lee

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Conference: 2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan
Publication Date: March 22, 2024
Start Date: March 22, 2024
End Date: March 23, 2024
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--45614
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/45614
Download Count: 12

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Paper Authors

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Zachary Owen Dickinson Gannon University

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Zachary Dickinson is a Cyber engineering student at Gannon University, Erie, PA, and expected to graduate in May 2024. His areas of research interests include embedded systems and hardware security.

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Nicholas B. Conklin received a B.S. in applied physics from Grove City College in 2001, and a Ph.D. in physics from Penn State University in 2009. He is currently an associate professor and chair of the Physics Department at Gannon University, Erie, PA.

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Wookwon Lee Gannon University

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Wookwon Lee, P.E. received the B.S. degree in electronic engineering from Inha University, Korea, in 1985, and the M.S. and D.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the George Washington University, Washington, DC, in 1992 and 1995, respectively. He is currently a full professor in the Department of Electrical and Cyber Engineering at Gannon University, Erie, PA. Prior to joining Gannon in 2007, he had been involved in various research and development projects in industry and academia for more than 15 years.

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Abstract

High-altitude ballooning has been an attractive framework to promote knowledge and skills to college students in STEM disciplines. Having successfully participated in a nationwide total solar eclipse ballooning campaign in 2017, we continued revising our ballooning framework for the upcoming solar eclipse events in October 2023 and April 2024. In late 2022, we were selected as one of the 53 teams for Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) and in Oct. 2023, participated in a nationwide balloon flight campaign during the annular solar eclipse.

At the time of NEBP team selection in fall 2022, our ballooning framework primarily consisted of several payloads and two types of ground stations. On the balloon side, our payloads were for multiple Pi cam-based video streaming, 900 MHz RF-based balloon tracking, 144 MHz APRS-based balloon tracking, 1.6 GHz Iridium-based balloon tracking, 2 GHz cellphone-based balloon tracking, and 2.8/5.8 GHz microwave downlinks for real-time video transmission. On the ground station side, our equipment included a fixed ground station for reception of streaming video and other sensor data and two mobile stations for tracking and recovery of the balloon payloads. For the balloon tracking, our mapping software included a local copy of Microsoft MapPoint for 900 MHz RF-based tracking and several on-line position-mapping software tools that are specifically associated with the Iridium-based tracking, cellphone-based tracking, and APRS-based tracking, respectively.

As one of the NEBP engineering teams, in early 2023, we had received a new set of balloon payloads and two ground stations from the NEBP leadership team and this set of new equipment broadened our choices of technology for the 2023 annular solar eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse. For the 2023 annular solar eclipse, among the various technology choices we had, we adopted the new set of NEBP equipment as the primary platform and incorporated additional functionalities. Although the NEBP leadership team provided detailed technical documentation of the NEBP payloads and ground stations, it was complex and challenging for a new NEBP engineering team to assemble, configure, and integrate them, as applicable, into a complete ballooning system in a relatively short time-period of about 8 months in 2023.

This paper describes our engineering experiences and lessons learned from preparing for and conducting the annular solar eclipse ballooning on Oct. 14, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Our project team consisted of eight student members from freshmen through junior classes in spring 2023 and two faculty advisors. While collaboration was encouraged to help the others as needed, the student members worked on specific technical aspects in extracurricular project activities committing 5~10 hours per week in spring and fall semesters. Students’ activities were facilitated under close in-lab supervision of the two faculty members. This paper is organized into the following subsections to present student members’ technical work and lessons learned: 1) Iridium Payload and Control Commands for Vent and Cutdown, 2) APRS and RFD900 Payload, 3) Arducam-based Video Streaming, 4) Pterodactyl, 5) Webcam-based Video Streaming, 6) 3D-Printed Vent and Cutdown Unit, and 7) Balloon Launch and Payload Recovery.

Citation
Format

Dickinson, Z. O., & Jacobs, H. P., & Jones, S., & Chu, D. T. Â., & Yaple, H. D., & Snowdy, A. D., & McClain, Z., & Conklin, N. B., & Lee, W. (2024, March), Engineering Experiences and Lessons Learned from 2023 Annular Eclipse Ballooning Paper presented at 2024 ASEE North Central Section Conference, Kalamazoo, Michigan. 10.18260/1-2--45614

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - High-altitude ballooning has been an attractive framework to promote knowledge and skills to college students in STEM disciplines. Having successfully participated in a nationwide total solar eclipse ballooning campaign in 2017, we continued revising our ballooning framework for the upcoming solar eclipse events in October 2023 and April 2024. In late 2022, we were selected as one of the 53 teams for Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) and in Oct. 2023, participated in a nationwide balloon flight campaign during the annular solar eclipse. 

At the time of NEBP team selection in fall 2022, our ballooning framework primarily consisted of several payloads and two types of ground stations. On the balloon side, our payloads were for multiple Pi cam-based video streaming, 900 MHz RF-based balloon tracking, 144 MHz APRS-based balloon tracking, 1.6 GHz Iridium-based balloon tracking, 2 GHz cellphone-based balloon tracking, and 2.8/5.8 GHz microwave downlinks for real-time video transmission. On the ground station side, our equipment included a fixed ground station for reception of streaming video and other sensor data and two mobile stations for tracking and recovery of the balloon payloads. For the balloon tracking, our mapping software included a local copy of Microsoft MapPoint for 900 MHz RF-based tracking and several on-line position-mapping software tools that are specifically associated with the Iridium-based tracking, cellphone-based tracking, and APRS-based tracking, respectively.

As one of the NEBP engineering teams, in early 2023, we had received a new set of balloon payloads and two ground stations from the NEBP leadership team and this set of new equipment broadened our choices of technology for the 2023 annular solar eclipse and 2024 total solar eclipse. For the 2023 annular solar eclipse, among the various technology choices we had, we adopted the new set of NEBP equipment as the primary platform and incorporated additional functionalities. Although the NEBP leadership team provided detailed technical documentation of the NEBP payloads and ground stations, it was complex and challenging for a new NEBP engineering team to assemble, configure, and integrate them, as applicable, into a complete ballooning system in a relatively short time-period of about 8 months in 2023. 

This paper describes our engineering experiences and lessons learned from preparing for and conducting the annular solar eclipse ballooning on Oct. 14, 2023 in San Antonio, Texas. Our project team consisted of eight student members from freshmen through junior classes in spring 2023 and two faculty advisors. While collaboration was encouraged to help the others as needed, the student members worked on specific technical aspects in extracurricular project activities committing 5~10 hours per week in spring and fall semesters. Students’ activities were facilitated under close in-lab supervision of the two faculty members. This paper is organized into the following subsections to present student members’ technical work and lessons learned: 1) Iridium Payload and Control Commands for Vent and Cutdown, 2) APRS and RFD900 Payload, 3) Arducam-based Video Streaming, 4) Pterodactyl, 5) Webcam-based Video Streaming, 6) 3D-Printed Vent and Cutdown Unit, and 7) Balloon Launch and Payload Recovery. 

AU  - Zachary Owen Dickinson
AU  - Hannah Paige Jacobs
AU  - Sara Jones
AU  - Damien Thiên Ân Chu
AU  - Hunter Dawson Yaple
AU  - Andrew Donald Snowdy
AU  - Zoey McClain
AU  - Nicholas B Conklin
AU  - Wookwon Lee
CY  - Kalamazoo, Michigan
DA  - 2024/03/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Engineering Experiences and Lessons Learned from 2023 Annular Eclipse Ballooning
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/45614
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--45614
ER  -