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As the next mission gets closer the team is wrapping up the vehicles.  The most complex will be Away 66. It will have a video camera we can point from ground via a live feed. It also will have a ground controlled valve on the balloon. We’re also trying to get a head of the game a bit and are continuing to sew a new launch bag for this falls flights.

We’re trying to get one of our MHD units ready to fly and be firing at 90,000 feet on Away 65, but it’s going to be close. That experiment may get bumped to summer.

It’s getting down to the details: The parachutes were mounted, the balloon releases were tested and the checklist are being written.

Anthony working on Away 66.

Paul sewing stake loops on the new launch bag.

It was amazing seeing the reactions to the Samsung JPA Space Balloon Project display at the National Museum of Art in Tokyo.

About 450 PongSats have arrived, we must have a mission coming up.

This powerhouse is about an inch and a half wide.

We conducted a diagnostic test firing of the Hall effect MHD unit. Instead of measuring the resultant Hall current we set up the datalogger to measure the Faraday voltages of the individual electrodes. The idea is that we can get more power out if the electrodes are balanced. This was test firing number 71.

On the next mission we will be launching the high racks in pairs. This means two launch bags side by side.  This will keep the landing sites of the two vehicles close together. The idea is to reduce four recovery efforts to two.

The problem is we have only one launch bag sized for the balloons we want to use. We could use one of the larger launch bags designed for the Tandem airship, however it doesn’t work quite as well. The smaller balloon tends to get lost in all that fabric. This can only mean one thing: More sewing!!!!!!!! Let me tell you, the team is excited….. This will be our sixth launch bag.

After fretting over sub mini, nano, micro and other diminutive names we’re decided to call our smallest magnetohydrodynamic generator ‘Giant’. The core is only a half inch long and one eighth inch tall yet it puts out more power than some of our much larger units.

Test Firing 68             Test Firing 70 (too narrow a plasma channel on 70)

Saturday we poured ahead on getting ready for the next flights.  Four vehicle are being prepared for March 31st. This will be our annual thousand PongSat mission.

In addition to over a thousand PongSats we will be conducting helium valving tests. live video camera control and a pile of other tests for Tandem and ATO.

Paul and Julian cutting fabric for a balloon slider panel.

Anthony mounting main controller parts.

PongSat Racks!

Samsung has created a incredible new phone charging stand for the Galaxy II phone. It’s a replica of the astronaut they few on our Samsung Promotion/Commercial missions. The picture on the box in from our Away 57 Mission.

Mine was a gift from our friends in Japan.

The best part is the picture on the box. If you look closely you can see the balloon and curve of the Earth in the astronauts visor.