The Away 35 mission will fly within the next 60 days. There is space for about 200 more PongSats. This will be a balloon flight to 100,000 feet.
Anyone who want to fly with us let me know. PongSats are flown at no charge, but first come first serve.
There is also space for two $100 high altitude ads.
JP
With four vehicles being worked on at once it really gets busy.
The Tandem is getting close. We’re down to running and rerunning the checklists and “ground flying” the mission over and over.
We had to replace the command/control radio on Tandem. We were seeing a frequency shift when it is initially plugged in. It looks like a software issue in the radio. We don’t expect it be unplugging in the field and can’t in flight so it shouldn’t be an issue. However, “shouldn’t” be a problem is just too ugly. We like “is not a problem, so we pulled it.
The team finished off all the fins for the three new High Rack. This ‘high Rack-Away mission can get confusing: a high rack is a type of vehicle is itself. The Away NN is the individual vehicle. As is Away 35, 36 and 37 are all High Racks.
K’John finding the center of a foam disk.
Bob working on the Tandem
Saturday while we were busy building, three miles away there was an airshow. One of the turning points for the Blue Angles was right over our building. This pic was taken five feet out the door, straight up.
Monday was spent sewing lines onto the new parachute. It was one of those jobs that looks like it take 20 minutes, but ends up taking five hours. These parachutes are for the next three Away missions.
Before
Saturday we worked on the Tandem along with the Away 35, 36, and Away 37 vehicles. For the Away’s we sewed velcro tensioning straps on all nine fins, (three go on each vehicle). We also refinished and mounted the upper decks for all three.
We been working and reworking the Tandem checklist. It takes five pages to turn this ship on. Each run through we get more familiar with the process and we make changes in the checklist. Our is complete powerup,testing and systems go for flight in fifteen minutes. The main this is to accomplish this without rushing. It at about four hours right now. Most of the time was working out the process change. We also were relabeling all the connection so that they match each other and the checklist.
Working Tandem Making Fins
Paul and the Away 35 Frame
sigh…..
Our friend and supporter Peter Dulude is hosting a country dance on March 15 to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.
If you’re in Canada this is the place to be! If not at least checkout there website.
We use carbon tubes like tinkertoys. This means we’re always making carbon connectors and clamp. The other think we always find ourselves doing is sewing. The latest in the machine was slide panels and new parachutes. What are the tools of the next spaceage? A sew machine, carnuba release wax and a soldering iron…
Jacqueline sewing away.
Michael and Mark making one more clamp for Away 28.
Here’s a couple of new scans from the MicroTandem flight.
MicroTandem’s Launch Bags
No,it over there!!!!
