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Jeff the Director gave me a tour of the Balloon Museum before tomorrows’ events. They have on display one of James Van Allen’s original rockoons. I didn’t know that any even still existed. It was a heart stopping moment.

Here’s a pair of images from the cluster balloon exhibit at the Albuquerque Balloon Museum.

On the left of the first image you can see a couple of our rockoons and a model of the Tandem. I’ll be there Saturday and Sunday giving talks and building PongSats.

While making our plans for PongSats to space I came across these pics of two very cool PongSats. These flew about two years ago.

Tomorrow morning at 7am mountain time I’ll be on the Michael Shinabery show. If you are in the Alamogordo, New Mexico area,  call in and say hi!

If you are out of radio range the show is normally posted online the next day at:

http://alamoam.com/

The team woke the Tandem airship up from her year long slumber. They reinstalled the main controller, put batteries in and ran the main engines. It looks like we need to remount the motor RPM sensors and a few other odds and ends but it all looks good.

The Bellavia (submarine) was pressed into service for the space cause. We used her as an analog to test hatch diameters for the high altitude crew module. We also need to build a hatch for the sub and want to share a few components between them. We cut a hole in a foam sheet and proceeded to crawl in and out of it, (ok, I admit it, I was making submarine noises while at the time…).

We also assembled and ran the first round of test on two tracking systems for the upcoming missions. Anthony was drafted into cutting in half more ping pong balls for the New Mexico Balloon Museum event. The parachute anchor reinforcement came out of the mold beautifully. We trimmed it and mounted on the underside of the Sky Pup.

Preping Tandem and the parachute anchor bracket

Parachute mount on the Pup and PongSats

Hatch Work

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/