JP Aerospace Blog

Parachute recess on top of the wing.

Mold and carbon for the airframe reinforcement for the parachute mount.

Professor Ira J. Thurston describing descending from a grand ascension aboard the aerial ship “Adrian”.

“Mere experience is by no means sufficient; for men may ascend for hundreds of times and still keep bungling on to the end. There must be a judgment to interpret its suggestions, and a coolness to apply them; penetration to embrace all that is requisite at a view and a quickness in calculating the results; prudence to avoid danger, and courage to confront it.”

From an interview, Daily Watchtower (Newspaper) August 28, 1859

In the very early days of flight “aerialists” probed the heights in coal gas filled balloons. Their exploits are nearly forgot, but they were among the first to reach into the sky.

Dale Schornack of New10 (KXTV ABC News Sacramento) did a great news piece on Vandenberg and Challenger. There is some great JPA coverage in it as well.

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I’ll be giving a talk and putting together PongSats with students at the International  Balloon Museum in Albuquerque. It will be Sunday,  February 13 as part of “Cluster Balloons: From Lawn Chairs to Cosmic Rays,” exhibit.

If you’re close, stop on by!

http://www.cabq.gov/balloon/events/open-house-free-cluster-balloons-exhibition/

We conducted four firings of the Mini-MHD generator Saturday. Test 29 was a baseline run for the new datalogger (weird data). Test 30 was with a composite motor and the old datalogger. We want to start exploring how power varies with motor chemistry. Test 31 was another firing with the new datalogger, (no data). After more jiggering and poking Test 32 was ran with the new datalogger and yea good data!

In addition we cut in half 30 PongSats for a Museum Day with students and finally got everything back in place from the flood.

This is a general overview of the idea:

PongSats in Space PDF

None of this two or three payload stuff….