Mid-Altitude Balloon Race Underway!
On-Time Launch of all Four Race Balloons!!
Welcome, ballooning educator!
Below is a series of resources to help you as you track the pico balloon. If you have other ideas, please feel free to email me at j_cozens@yahoo.com.
Check ARISS front page for latest launch information. Launch will be dependent upon local weather conditions, so there is always a possibility for a delay in date or time. Good weather--Launch completed on schedule: June 1 at 8:30 am PDT/9:30 MDT/10:30 CDT/11:30 EDT/15:30 UTC.
A live video feed of the launch is planned to start approximately 5 minutes prior to the event: https://youtu.be/UD-rO3nKMZo
How to track the balloon on aprs.fi
For the balloon race, all balloons will be mylar, and filled with helium.
The balloon callsigns for the race on June 1st will be:
Berkeley, CA (Magnitude.io & Lodi Unified School District)) - KK6UUQ-8
Torrance, CA (ARISS and Wiseburn Unified School District) - KM6BWB-9
Duarte, CA (ISSAbove) - KN6EQU-2
Pasco, WA (Rivers Edge HS & Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center)- K7HAK-11
All four balloons can be tracked on: https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=5&call=a%2FKK6UUQ-8%2Ca%2FKM6BWB-9%2Ca%2FKN6EQU-2%2Ca%2FK7HAK-11&timerange=518400&tail=518400
or: https://bit.ly/picorace
If you would like to “practice” on some previously launched balloons, try these out…
KM6BWB-4 (mylar balloon)
KM6BWB-6 (mylar balloon)
KM6BWB-8 (SBS-13 balloon)
If you’ve never seen or tracked a pico balloon before, here’s another way to see and explain it to your students, in a google slides format-
How to track a MAB (for Kindergarten and higher)
How to predict the path and track a MAB (for 6th grade and higher)
How to track and graph the balloon (for grades 3+)
After printing out the included graphing “paper”, make a dot per half hour. If tracking multiple balloons, use different colors for each balloon. After day 1 (launch), start graphing based on the first packet of information from that balloon- even if the timing is different for each balloon (you may be graphing the second hour of a flight from one balloon, and the first half hour of the other balloon).
NOTE- occasionally the temperature sensor is off on the balloons. If the first packet after launch states that the temperature is 24℃, the sensor is faulty- pick another balloon to graph. The altitudes and speed are extremely reliable.
Altitude graphs- for mylar balloons
Altitude graphs- for SBS-13 balloons (circumnavigation)
Temperature graphs
Speed graphs
How to track the balloon’s path (for grades Pre-K-12)
There are a series of maps, depending on age levels. As the balloon moves, students can simply color in that state/province/country.
North America map with labeled states/provinces
North America map- no labels on states/provinces
Color map of time zone locations
World map- unlabeled
A full math/science unit on pico balloons (for grades 4+), all on Google Slides
Pico balloon STEM unit- grades 4+
Articles (for grades 4+)
What is APRS?
What is the Jet Stream?
Below is a series of resources to help you as you track the pico balloon. If you have other ideas, please feel free to email me at j_cozens@yahoo.com.
Check ARISS front page for latest launch information. Launch will be dependent upon local weather conditions, so there is always a possibility for a delay in date or time. Good weather--Launch completed on schedule: June 1 at 8:30 am PDT/9:30 MDT/10:30 CDT/11:30 EDT/15:30 UTC.
A live video feed of the launch is planned to start approximately 5 minutes prior to the event: https://youtu.be/UD-rO3nKMZo
How to track the balloon on aprs.fi
- Go to aprs.fi.
- In the “track callsign” box, type in the callsign of the balloon you want to track.
- To look at previous data, click on any of the red dots in the path to see that packet of information.
- Overnight, the balloon does not send out any packets (it is solar-powered), so when the first packet of information in the morning is sent, aprs.fi will “connect the dots”- that is not necessarily the path the balloon took in that period of time.
For the balloon race, all balloons will be mylar, and filled with helium.
The balloon callsigns for the race on June 1st will be:
Berkeley, CA (Magnitude.io & Lodi Unified School District)) - KK6UUQ-8
Torrance, CA (ARISS and Wiseburn Unified School District) - KM6BWB-9
Duarte, CA (ISSAbove) - KN6EQU-2
Pasco, WA (Rivers Edge HS & Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center)- K7HAK-11
All four balloons can be tracked on: https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=5&call=a%2FKK6UUQ-8%2Ca%2FKM6BWB-9%2Ca%2FKN6EQU-2%2Ca%2FK7HAK-11&timerange=518400&tail=518400
or: https://bit.ly/picorace
If you would like to “practice” on some previously launched balloons, try these out…
KM6BWB-4 (mylar balloon)
KM6BWB-6 (mylar balloon)
KM6BWB-8 (SBS-13 balloon)
If you’ve never seen or tracked a pico balloon before, here’s another way to see and explain it to your students, in a google slides format-
How to track a MAB (for Kindergarten and higher)
How to predict the path and track a MAB (for 6th grade and higher)
How to track and graph the balloon (for grades 3+)
After printing out the included graphing “paper”, make a dot per half hour. If tracking multiple balloons, use different colors for each balloon. After day 1 (launch), start graphing based on the first packet of information from that balloon- even if the timing is different for each balloon (you may be graphing the second hour of a flight from one balloon, and the first half hour of the other balloon).
NOTE- occasionally the temperature sensor is off on the balloons. If the first packet after launch states that the temperature is 24℃, the sensor is faulty- pick another balloon to graph. The altitudes and speed are extremely reliable.
Altitude graphs- for mylar balloons
Altitude graphs- for SBS-13 balloons (circumnavigation)
Temperature graphs
Speed graphs
How to track the balloon’s path (for grades Pre-K-12)
There are a series of maps, depending on age levels. As the balloon moves, students can simply color in that state/province/country.
North America map with labeled states/provinces
North America map- no labels on states/provinces
Color map of time zone locations
World map- unlabeled
A full math/science unit on pico balloons (for grades 4+), all on Google Slides
Pico balloon STEM unit- grades 4+
Articles (for grades 4+)
What is APRS?
What is the Jet Stream?
