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Rensselaer Students Reach the Edge of Space—and They Have a Video To Prove It
Student Club Creates Unprecedented 360-Degree
Video of Weather Balloon’s 89,777-Foot Ascent
Members of a student club at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
have created a unique
360-degree video chronicling a weather balloon’s
89,777-foot ascent into space.
The Rensselaer Students for the Exploration
and Development of Space (SEDS) club launched their
high-atmosphere balloon in late January. Filled with condensed
helium, the balloon carried a payload of three high-definition
video cameras and GPS equipment. SEDS members retrieved the
payload—which was carefully designed to withstand a significant
impact—after the balloon popped at its peak altitude and fell
to the Earth’s surface. All three video cameras were intact,
and club members “stitched together” footage from the three
perspectives into a single 360-degree video.
The goal of the project, SEDS members said, was to create a
video that would reach younger audiences and help rekindle
their interest in space, science, and engineering.
“We see our video as an extraordinary opportunity to bring
viewers face to face with the wonder of space,” said aerospace
engineering major Orian Breaux, of Roselle Park, N.J., a recent
graduate, member of the Class of 2012, and founder of SEDS at
Rensselaer. “That curiosity has fallen out of public
consciousness, and grassroots projects like these will help
restore that spark among younger generations.”
“All of us on the team are passionate about space
exploration, and we really channeled that energy into this
project,” said electrical engineering major Greg Pitner, of
Wappingers Falls, N.Y., also a member of the class of 2012.
“The video gives a view of the horizon from the top of the
atmosphere, which is as close as we can get—for now, at
least—to actually experiencing what it’s like to be in
space.”
See the full, unedited video from one of the cameras at: http://youtu.be/4PhwrW_KVAs
SEDS launched the balloon at 8:29 a.m. EST on Jan. 28 from
the ’87 Field in the heart of the Rensselaer campus in Troy,
N.Y. The students used GPS to track the progress of the
balloon, which immediately sped up and east. At 9:16 a.m. and
an altitude of 29,039 feet, the balloon hit a speed of 246
mph—its fastest speed of the voyage. At 11 a.m., miles above
Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H., the balloon reached its peak altitude
of 89,777 feet and popped.
The payload fell to the ground and eventually landed in
Steep Falls, Maine—170 miles from Troy as the crow flies, or a
280-mile car ride. Despite a broken-down car, losing the keys
to the backup car, and getting questioned by Maine law
enforcement officials, the students found the payload stuck up
a tree deep in a Maine forest. Upon retrieving it and a running
few quick tests, they discovered the video cameras were
undamaged and had captured the footage successfully.
“I never cease to be amazed by these students. They proposed
the mission, they designed the system and the payload, they
built it, and then flew it with absolute success,” said club
faculty adviser Kurt Anderson, a
professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and
Nuclear Engineering, and the associate dean for undergraduate
studies. “At many institutions students too seldom take their
ideas beyond concept and design on paper. Not so with this
group. They have gone from ideas to execution, achieved through
their own hard work and initiative. In so doing they have taken
all of us the edge of space through the extraordinary images
the craft returned. We should all be proud of what these
students have accomplished.”
SEDS at Rensselaer is one of 36 college-based chapters of SEDS, an independent,
student-based organization with a vision for a space-faring
civilization. The organization is committed to fostering
enthusiasm among young people as a key to humanity’s future in
space.
For additional information on Rensselaer Students for the
Exploration and Development of Space club, visit:
See local media coverage of the SEDS balloon launch at:
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Published
February 23,
2012 |
Contact: Michael Mullaney
Phone: (518) 276-6161
E-mail: mullam@rpi.edu |
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