Balloon Flight Theory Much of this page is taken from https://ukhas.org.uk/general:beginners_guide_to_high_altitude_ballooning this is a great resource but is UK based so we need to take into account Australian conditions. The general theory is:
 Therefore given we want to fly a HAB mission you need to construct a payload box with a tracking device (e.g. GPS module, microcontoller and then a radio/mobile phone). Additional components include for example cameras and temperature sensor. You also will need a parachute, a balloon and some helium and permission to launch. For this competition all you need to do is design the experiment that will fly on the balloon mission. We will work with the winners to design the payload box, choose the Balloon, organise the retrieval and organise permission to fly Obviously we cannot just launch balloons loaded with electronics at random in Australia so we use the guidelines from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority to guide the launch. The relevant regulations are the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) Part 101. It is included at the bottom of this page. The regulations are very technical but we will work with balloon providers to ensure our experiments work as required. Getting a system that works is harder then it sounds, BUT DON'T WORRY we learn from our failures. HAB payloads are difficult to test in advance so there is a failure rate that unfortunately affects us all. The better planned a payload/flight the less chance of something going wrong. If something doesn't go to plan you just need to learn from the problem, fix it and try again - its happen to us all! |
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