Recap of EOSS-138/139

03/02/2012 15:50 (CDT): Finished

by SamCam2

Fortuitous capture of the balloon debris just after burst

LAUNCH DATE: May 9th, 2009
LAUNCH TIME: 

• EOSS-138: 06:39 MDT (12:39 UTC)
• EOSS-139: 07:39 MDT (13:39 UTC)

Not a typo, flights launched almost exactly 60 minutes apart.

LAUNCH SITE: Windsor, CO (see directions)

Pre-flight Prediction and Actual Tracks

E0SS-138 AE0SS-11

Blue = Actual Track
Green = Predicted Ascent Phase
Red = Predicted Descent Phase
Map made with MapPoint
Prediction made with Balloon Track

Green Track = Ascent
Red Track = Descent
Prediction and Actual tracks made with Balloon Track
Maps by Google Earth

Launch Site - Windsor
-----------------------
Launch Point: 40.47367� lat.   -104.96233� long.
Grid: X=-47.48 Y=20.57
Ascent Rate: 1400 feet per minute
Descent Rate: 1070 feet per minute
Altitude: 4931 feet
Predicted Landing Site
-----------------------
Landing Point: 40.492� lat.  -102.97756� long.
Grid: X=56.8 Y=21.8
Altitude: 4500 feet
Flight Time: 118 Minutes
Bearing: 88.7� True
Range: 104.2 Mi.
Actual Landing Site
-----------------------
Landing Point: 40.48231� lat.  -103.38201� long.
Grid: X=35.5 Y=21.2
Bearing: 89.1� True
Range: 82.999 Mi.
Difference from Predicted to Actual Landing Site
--------------------------------------------------
Bearing: 268.3� True
Range: 21.248 Mi.

 

E0SS-139 KC0YA-11

Blue = Actual Track
Green = Predicted Ascent Phase
Red = Predicted Descent Phase
Map made with MapPoint
Prediction made with Balloon Track

Green Track = Ascent
Red Track = Descent
Prediction and Actual tracks made with Balloon Track
Maps by Google Earth

Launch Site - Windsor
-----------------------
Launch Point: 40.47367� lat.   -104.96233� long.
Grid: X=-47.48 Y=20.57
Ascent Rate: 1400 feet per minute
Descent Rate: 1070 feet per minute
Altitude: 4931 feet
Predicted Landing Site
-----------------------
Landing Point: 40.492� lat.  -102.97756� long.
Grid: X=56.8 Y=21.8
Altitude: 4500 feet
Flight Time: 118 Minutes
Bearing: 88.7� True
Range: 104.2 Mi.
Actual Landing Site
-----------------------
Landing Point: 40.46383� lat.  -103.20845� long.
Grid: X=44.7 Y=19.9
Bearing: 89.9� True
Range: 92.127 Mi.
Difference from Predicted to Actual Landing Site
--------------------------------------------------
Bearing: 261.0� True
Range: 12.279 Mi.

E0SS-139 K0SCC-11

Blue = Actual Track
Green = Predicted Ascent Phase
Red = Predicted Descent Phase
Map made with MapPoint
Prediction made with Balloon Track

NOTE: Not actual landing but last packet received at position notated as "Landing Site"

Green Track = Ascent
Red Track = Descent
Prediction and Actual tracks made with Balloon Track
Maps by Google Earth

 

Final Pre-Flight Prediction is available here

Prediction History is available here

Payload Experiment Designer

• NOAA AirCore (eoss-138)
• Lockheed Martin Explorers (eoss-139)

Experimenters are welcome to submit websites for linking or overviews which I will post on a page on the EOSS website.

EOSS Flight Day Frequencies:

Tracking and Recovery Frequencies

• Preflight Net:
  • 147.225 MHz 8 pm MDT the evening prior to flight day
    • 145.160 MHz simulcast in the Springs
    • 145.460 MHz simulcast in Boulder
  • 146.640 MHz will serve as a backup frequency
• Tracking and Recovery Operations
  • Primary Frequencies
    • 449.450 MHz RMRL (103.5 Hz tone) Windsor Launch site
    • 145.295 MHz (100 Hz tone) Sterling area
    • 146.550 MHz simplex (same simplex for field and launch ops)
  • Repeater Coverage Pages - Listings of all repeaters available in the expected flight areas.
  • There may be FRS operations see THIS PAGE for a list of channel numbers and their associated UHF Frequencies.

EOSS-138 Balloon Payload Frequencies

• Beacons
  • 147.555 MHz
    • CW ID: AE0SS
• APRS
  • 144.340 MHz
    • ID: AE�SS-11
    • DIGI: EOSS
    • Node: BALNOD
    • APRS Time Slotted Every 30 seconds at 0:00 and 0:30
      • power up at 58 seconds past the GPS minute to properly slot telemetry
    • Telemetry once a minute
    • Sample Data

EOSS-139 Balloon Payload Frequencies  

• Beacons
  • 145.600 MHz
    • CW ID: K0SCC
  • 445.975 MHz
    • CW: W5VSI (qualification flight)
• APRS
  • 144.340 MHz
    • ID: KC0YA-11
    • DIGI: EOSS
    • Node: BALND2
    • APRS Time Slotted Every 30 seconds at 0:15 and 0:45
      • power up at 13 seconds past the GPS minute to properly slot telemetry
    • Telemetry once a minute
    • Sample Data

• 145.600 MHz

• ID: K0SCC-11

Flight Systems: 

EOSS-138  

EOSS-139 

Payload Configuration: 

• Payload_Plan_138e.pdf
• Payload_Plan_139d.pdf

Tracking and Recovery Info:  

Breakfast

• Ft. Morgan McDonalds

• Exit 80 on I-76

• Meet at 5:30 am

Grid

Tactical Call Signs

Internet Gateway Stations:

as seen on Findu.Com

EOSS-138

AE0SS-11

• KB0TVJ - Russ Chadwick, at the launch site
• KC0D-4 - Mark Patton, Foxfield, CO
• KC0VJE - Louis Perley, Nunn, CO
• N0EB-1 - Richard Beggs, Northglenn, CO
• N0PSJ - Christopher Holmes, Arvada, CO
• AB0XK - Robert Roe, Russell, KS
• AB0XK-8 - Robert Roe, Russell, KS

EOSS-139

KC0YA-11

• AB0XK - Robert Roe, Russell, KS
• AB0XK-8 - Robert Roe, Russell, KS
• KC0D-4 - Mark Patton, Foxfield, CO
• N0EB-1 - Richard Beggs, Northglenn, CO
• KB0TVJ - Russ Chadwick, at the launch site
• KC0VJE - Louis Perley, Nunn, CO
• N0PSJ - Christopher Holmes, Arvada, CO

K0SCC-11

• K0UT-1 - Bill Beach, Fort Collins CO
• KB0TVJ-4 - Russ Chadwick, at the launch site
• KC0D-3 - Mark Patton, Foxfield, CO

EOSS wishes to express our sincere appreciation to the stations above who iGated the balloon APRS telemetry onto the internet. Did you know I publish predictions for i-gates? I keep a list of everyone who has ever i-gated an EOSS balloon flight. You're all in the list so if you're wondering when the balloon will pop up over your horizon, check out this page for future flights.  Currently predictions are being made for 29 i-gates.

We are relying heavily on real time position information available on the net to allow the FAA controllers to have up to the minute location data to assist them in air traffic control.

Redundant stations for the balloon iGating provide excellent coverage. If you are able to iGate we invite you to join the Internet Gateway Team. Contact me (webmaster@eoss.org) to be put in touch with the coordinator. By joining the team, you are giving peace of mind to the iGate coordinator for that flight. He knows you'll be there and he can rely on you.

Naturally, anyone can iGate data onto the net and even if you aren't a member of the team we will welcome your contribution to the internet based tracking effort. If you callsign appears on the findu.com log, you'll be shown as a contributing station as those above are.

Having more than one station covering each APRS beacon means that should a station drop out momentarily, the others can often maintain the data flow.

Thanks again guys! The FAA (and EOSS) are very grateful for your assistance in this endeavor.

Future I-Gaters:

Check out the EOSS I-Gate page for information on how to participate and why we need you.

Current I-Gate Stations:

Guys, the prediction program used to determine the track of the balloon prior to flight can now output a prediction for the Rise, Closest Approach or maximum elevation, and Set of the balloon for each of your stations. I have posted a prediction page for stations that I have been able to discover geographic coordinates. See the I-Gate prediction page for an example. The page will not be updated daily, however, it will be updated the evening prior to flight for I-gate planning purposes.

I have often been asked by iGaters when they should expect to either start receiving signals (AOS) or expect to see those signals disappear (LOS). This prediction page should answer all those questions for you.

Text Recaps

• by Benjie Campbell, W0CBH - Launch Site perspective
• by Mike Pappas, W9CN - Tracker's perspective
• The Twitter Feed

Photos

Launch Site

EOSS-138

• by Larry Cerney, K0ANI
• by Nick Hanks, N0LP

EOSS-139

• by Larry Cerney, K0ANI

Airborne SAMCAM2 Photos aboard EOSS-139

Ascent

• Look Down
• Look Out
• Look Up (post burst shards)

Descent

• Look Down
• Look Out
• Look Up

Recovery Site

EOSS-138

• by Jim Langsted, KC0RPS
• by Doug Gentges, N0IX

• page 1
• page 2 payloads

EOSS-139

• by Larry Cerney, K0ANI
• by Jim Langsted, KC0RPS
• by Darren Kalmbach

• page 1
• page 2

• by Miles Pappas

• page 1 people
• page 2 payloads

• by Miles Pappas and Marty Griffin, WA0GEH

• page 1
• page 2
• page 3

Audio

recorded. will be posted when edited.

Video

Data

EOSS-138

AE0SS-11

Text

• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_findu.txt - Findu Log
• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_findu_ts.txt - Findu Log with findu timestamps
• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_findu_airborne.txt - Findu Log airborne packets only
• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_kpc3_log.txt - Onboard KPC3 Log with annotation by w5vsi

Spread Sheets

• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_Flight_Data.csv - airborne only findu data ripped to spreadsheet format
• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_Telem_Data.csv - KPC3 Telemetry Log

Mapping Files

• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_recap.ptm - MapPoint file of the above recap
• eoss-138_ae0ss-11_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the flight
• eoss-138_predict_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the predicted flight path

EOSS-139

KC0YA-11

Text

• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_findu.txt - Findu Log
• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_findu_ts.txt - Findu Log with findu timestamps
• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_findu_airborne.txt - Findu Log airborne packets only
• not yet available - Onboard KPC3 Log with annotation by kc0ya

Spread Sheets

• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_Flight_Data.csv - airborne only findu data ripped to spreadsheet format
• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_Telem_Data.csv - KPC3 Telemetry Log

Mapping Files

• eoss-138_predict_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the predicted flight path (from 138)
• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the flight
• eoss-139_kc0ya-11_recap.ptm - MapPoint file of the above recap

K0SCC-11

Text

• eoss-139_k0scc-11_findu.txt - Findu Log
• eoss-139_k0scc-11_findu_ts.txt - Findu Log with findu timestamps
• eoss-139_k0scc-11_findu_airborne.txt - Findu Log airborne packets only

Spread Sheets

• eoss-139_k0scc-11_Flight_Data.csv - airborne only findu data ripped to spreadsheet format

Mapping Files

• eoss-138_predict_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the predicted flight path (from 138)
• eoss-139_k0scc-11_track.kml - Google Earth Track of the flight
• eoss-139_k0scc-11_recap.ptm - MapPoint file of the above recap

Charts

• by Nick Hanks, N0LP