Competition Overview:
What is
Near-Space
Ballooning?
High-altitude balloons are fun,
inexpensive, and increasingly popular tools used to fly experiments in
a near-space environment.
We attach payloads (containers
holding experiments) along with a
ham radio, GPS tracker, radar reflector, and parachute to a latex balloon filled with helium.
As the balloon ascends, the atmospheric pressure drops and the
balloon expands. At a certain point
in the stratosphere, the balloon can
no longer stretch and pops! As it
falls back to Earth, the parachute
deploys. Ham radio operators track
the balloon as it descends to Earth.
After continuously following the
balloon’s trajectory with tracking
equipment, the chase teams pinpoint the balloon’s landing site.
UND’s Balloon Team has
launched balloons that have surpassed 100,000 feet! That’s at the
edge of space!
The NASA North Dakota Space Grant Consortium (NDSGC) is looking for bright, young
North Dakota scientists and engineers from 6th to 12th grade to participate in this year’s NearSpace Balloon Competition (NSBC). Students, in teams of 3-20, will design their own science
experiments which will fly up to 100,000-feet, into the near-space environment. We will select
a total of eight proposals that will fly on two separate balloons in the spring of 2014.
The NSBC teaches students to develop a mission plan, create a real-world proposal, design
their product, and engineer a device that is launched to the edge of space.
Once the payload selection is made, qualifying teams will be funded by the NDSGC for payload construction and launch travel expenses.
Prizes:
Important Dates:
• Please submit proposals by November 22,
2013 to balloons@ndspacegrant.org
• Payload selection notifications will be
sent by December 13, 2013
• Primary Launch Date: April 26, 2014
• Backup Launch Date: May 10, 2014
The NASA NDSGC is funding this
statewide project, as a fun way for students
across North Dakota to experience space science and engineering. Prizes will be awarded
to winning teams for multiple categories, including Best High School Payload and Best
Middle School Payload.
The Grand Prize winner will win a trip to
the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace
Sciences at the University of North Dakota,
tour the Aviation facilities including a high altitude chamber, the Space Suit Lab, fly spacecraft simulators, and visit the UND
Observatory!
Rules and Regulations
A balloon launch is fun and exciting, but we have to implement some
payload restrictions in order to maintain a level of safety for ourselves, as
well as conform to FAA regulations.
1. The fully completed payload
MUST be less than 2 pounds.
2. Payloads may not exceed
2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft
3. No live animals! Plants are okay.
4. Contact us if you’re considering
any radio equipment. We will
have licensed radio operators
tracking the balloon during a
launch.
5. Have fun!
Space research is accessible to
everyone, not just NASA! What topics will you study?
• Humidity • Optics •Temperature
• Electricity • Jet Stream Motion
• Pressure ...and more!
Send Questions and
Proposal Submissions to:
balloons@ndspacegrant.org
Find the rules and information online:
ndspacegrant.und.edu
To learn more about this opportunity
and others like it:
Follow us on Twitter:
@NDSGC
Like us on Facebook:
North Dakota
Space Grant
Consortium
Want to watch the
great success story?
Check out the launch on YouTube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=eItjEZ9o5e8
NASA North Dakota
Space Grant Consortium
Department of Space Studies
Clifford Hall Room 513
4149 University Ave. Stop 9008
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9008
North
Dakota
Near-Space
Balloon
Competition
2014