Morning Session

Introduction and Welcome - Matthew E. Nelson, President

Standard Talks 1

S1A - Plymouth State University NH Annular Eclipse Results

Presentation Slides

Abstract: The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) is a NASA-funded project with the objective to engage students in a NASA mission-like adventure in data acquisition by studying the impacts of solar eclipses on the atmosphere during both the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses. As a part of the project for the 2023 eclipse, 19 atmospheric science teams located along the path of annularity released radiosondes hourly starting 24 hours before annularity and ending six hours after. Hourly profiles of temperature, dewpoint, pressure, and wind speed and direction up to ~30,000 m asl were collected. We believe hourly radiosonde launches over 30 hours by 19 teams created the most spatiotemporally-dense dataset of radiosonde profiles ever collected. Additionally, each team had a surface weather station at their launch site collecting surface observations at 2-second intervals of temperature, dewpoint, relative humidity, pressure, wind speed and direction, and solar irradiance. To gather higher temporal resolution data, a super-site of five closely-sited teams was located in Moriarty and Belén, New Mexico. The hourly radiosonde launch times were staggered such that a radiosonde was launched every 12 minutes for the duration of the campaign.

This presentation focuses on a preliminary analysis of radiosonde and surface weather data collected by two Plymouth State University atmospheric science teams in Moriarty, NM during the 14 October 2023 annular solar eclipse with a focus on the planetary boundary layer response as a function of solar irradiance. Analyses include time series plots of surface measurements for the entire 30-hour campaign and skew-t diagrams.

S1B - ERAU National Eclipse Project: Annular to Total Eclipse

Presentation Slides

Abstract: The ERAU National Eclipse project involves testing and comparing the performance of two different radio frequencies, 900MHz and 2.4GHz, for satellite and UAV applications. There are 7 payloads part of this project that are attached to a high-altitude balloon, One payload will transmit live video via raspberry pi. Another payload will send telemetry data over a 900MHz link using an RFD900+ Modem. The signals will be received with high-gain antennas on a tracking ground station, and the on-board pterodactyl board will collect the same telemetry data for comparison purposes. The goal of the project is to characterize the quality and range of radio links to guide future university aerospace projects. The project will provide valuable information on the performance of different frequencies and equipment, helping to improve satellite and UAV technology in the future.

S1C - SFU in the Stratosphere: Experiences of a New Stratospheric Ballooning Team

Presentation Slides

Abstract: The solar eclipses of October 2023 and April 2024 present a unique environment for scientific research, and, thanks to the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP), a unique opportunity for undergraduate students. Through the training and support provided by the NEBP in the Spring of 2023, Saint Francis University (SFU) has formed an engineering track team, SFU in the Stratosphere. This team began its ballooning experience with a six week launch campaign in Summer 2023, launching and recovering its first three weather balloons in a 14-day period during the month of June. The experience gained during this time was vital as the team gained new members in Fall 2023 and traveled to New Mexico to launch during the Annular Eclipse on October 14, 2023.

SFU in the Stratosphere has developed a small set of custom payloads, including a custom datalogger, tree-recovery assistant payload, Geiger counter for cosmic radiation measurement, and a thermoelectric generator. These payloads were developed, in part, in response to lessons learned during SFU’s 5 inaugural launches, ideas for future research projects, and to meet the demands of the NEBP. While not all of these payloads will, necessarily, fly during the final launch of the NEBP, they will provide a foundation for the next generation of SiS team members.

SFU is presently preparing for launch during the total eclipse in April 2024 with a planned release point just north of Fort Worth, Indiana.

S1D - Space Cowboys Eclipse Outreach in Wyoming and Beyond

Presentation Slides

Abstract: This presentation will focus on the various ways our NEBP team has done outreach before, during, after, and between the eclipse campaigns. We will highlight local outreach events in Wyoming that were completed before the October annular eclipse, outreach activities we did with classrooms in Richfield, Utah during the annular eclipse campaign, and our planned outreach for the future. This future outreach includes several local balloon launches this spring, the University of Wyoming’s Undergraduate Research Day in April, and an outreach day at local schools near Bluffton, Ohio, where our team will be stationed for the total solar eclipse.
From the outreach events we’ve conducted so far, we have been given the opportunity to learn from our trials before and during the first eclipse. These challenges have taught us several innovative ways to engage an audience while talking about eclipses, atmospheric science, and technology. Using tools like 3D models, videos, and interactive exercises, we found that students stayed engaged in our presentations. During each event, we tailored our presentations to fit the skill level and understanding of the students we were visiting. This was done by structuring the presentation in a modular style, with the more difficult portions omitted for younger audiences. These methods will continue to be put to use in the future to ensure our planned outreach events are engaging and exciting to any audience.

Morning Poster Session

University of Bridgeport High Altitude Ballooning During the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse

Poster Link

Abstract: For the October 2023 annular solar eclipse, the University of Bridgeport Engineering High Altitude Ballooning team was composed of undergraduate and graduate students, their faculty advisor and experienced mentors. As members of the pod lead team for the East Central region, their mission was to assist and provide support for six other northeast university teams as well as develop payloads capable of enduring near-space conditions. The team's objectives included providing a proof of concept, executing a test flight under conditions similar to those expected during the Total Solar Eclipse of April 2024, and fostering undergraduate proficiency in practical engineering and design reflective of real-life challenges. Over several months, the team engaged in designing and constructing the payload boxes, as well as assembling integral components of the campaign, including the Ground Station, Pterodactyl, Venting System, tracking with the NAL Satellite System and iridium and Montana State’s Borealis system and Video Payload. This poster presentation shares the insights gained from the construction of high-altitude balloon payloads, the management of annular eclipse day operations in Junction, Texas, and the team challenges encountered such as launch and recovery logistics. Furthermore, it outlines proposed enhancements for the payloads in preparation for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.

Radiosonde Whereabouts Relay

Poster Link

Abstract: During the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Gordon Cooper’s Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project team is traveling to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, where there are no permanent radiosonde stations to record the location of the team’s launched balloons. The goal of the Radiosonde Whereabouts Relay (RaWR) was to create a radiosonde station that is portable and is able to broadcast data from any location with access to cellular data. The RaWR team’s station relays data received from radiosondes to Sondehub.org, a popular website used to track radiosondes across the world, and is capable of doing so from great range. The RaWR system uses a single motherboard Raspberry Pi 4 in a ventilated wooden case powered by a 5 Amp rechargeable battery. The Raspberry Pi receives information from our antenna through an attached RTL-SDR, which turns captured radio waves into interpretable data packets. This data is sent to and processed by our decoding software, Auto_RX. Auto_RX also uploads the decoded data to the radiosonde tracking website SondeHub. In the future, RaWR plans to make the process autonomous, initializing the software as soon as the system is booted. The data RaWR receives is poorly organized at the time of writing, and is to be improved. This portable project is able to fill in the gaps on Sondehub’s grid, going where no station has gone before.

Picking A Launch Site

Poster Link

Abstract: Picking a launch site to meet the requirements of the National Eclipse Balloon Project (NEBP) can be tricky. Once the ground station site is fixed (giving high speed access to the internet for streaming, power and perhaps public outreach), then the launch site can be chosen so that the balloon passes within 10-20 miles of the ground station site at an optimal altitude for video. Historic weather data can be used to estimate potential balloon paths, but the final location cannot be fixed until within a day or two of the launch. Having someone on the ground several days ahead to scout locations is an important part of the process. Next, one has to have confidence that the balloon will land in an accessible area, with the added complication of potentially heavy traffic on eclipse day. If one is confident in the venting and cutdown unit, then there is some control of this, but in either case, it takes knowledge of the local area, something that the team may not have if they are traveling a distance for the eclipse. Having local partners who can be consulted during planning (and also be on hand during the eclipse) is extremely important in this regard. We will discuss our experiences on the ground in northern New Mexico in 2023 and the lessons learned for 2024, when we will be launching somewhere east of Dallas, with our ground station site in Sulphur Springs, TX.

Collaboration With Others, Outreach, And Funding

Poster Link

Abstract: Throughout the NEBP journey, teams are strongly encouraged to engage with their communities to reveal the opportunities inherent in and beyond the NEBP program. Ultimately, Casper College’s Wyoming Space Engineers (WySE) took a multifaceted approach. For example, students took active participation in the NEBP forum, particularly in the realm of optimizing live streaming video and learning about components relevant to the cutdown system such as light interpretation. Regardless, WySE’s efforts did not go unnoticed as a plethora of local media outlets, such as Oil City News and K2 news, highlighted our team’s pursuits. Additionally, a vital member of WySE played a significant role in showcasing the NEBP project on Wyoming News Now, highlighting the innovative aspects and goals of the project, shedding light on its importance to education and STEM. Outside that, engaging with neighboring teams found itself equally important. For instance, WySE often visited and aided in the launch of Riverton, Wyoming’s NEBP team which fostered a healthy relationship where they too would often visit and aid in our launches. Beyond that, WySE often sought guidance from the University of Wyoming’s Atmospheric Track via practice launches and retrieval missions, allowing us to solidify our commitment to community involvement and knowledge sharing between teams. Moreover, a few WySE members also attended a Wyoming Space Grant Consortium meeting to present their experiences and gratitude for the NEBP project and why funding projects such as these are immensely useful in allowing students to explore new avenues of work and science. In short, the integral support from the Wyoming Space Grant Consortium and Casper College’s BOCES program has played a vital role in our outreach efforts, providing an excellent backbone for our engagement. Beyond simply ballooning, NEBP is a platform not just for personal growth but for cultivating the spirit of shared learning.

Outreach to Anna’s Place NOLA. Community Impact through NASA ASTRO CAMP ®

Poster Link

Abstract: This presentation discusses our student outreach with our Eclipse Ambassador team at Anna’s Place NOLA. Delgado Community College and Dillard University performed 3-5 hours of outreach weekly through fall semester at Anna’s Place NOLA, a K-12 out of school program. Delgado is a NASA ASTRO CAMP ® Community Partner who has been working with Anna’s Place for three years.We will present how, through our partnership, Anna’s Place NOLA was able to secure a TEAM II ANKR award. Some of this funding, with an addition from private donors, will enable 26 children, faculty and chaperones to join our atmospheric ballooning teams in Morrilton, AR for the eclipse. The students will be assisting with our teams’ public outreach events prior to the beginning of launch.We will present our eclipse specific activities beginning with NASA’s Eclipse Safety rules and learning how to use eclipse glasses correctly. We will outline successful and less successful activities for engaging our K-12 audience.Delgado and Dillard’s education partnership with K-12 students assisted Delgado and Dillard’s teams in San Antonio through public awareness. We had the students design our safety posters, attracting many families to our launch site. We will briefly outline our curriculum plans for the spring semester in preparation for the total eclipse. This partnership between informal education teachers, K-12 students, university students, and NASA demonstrates a working model of commitment to our community and leveraging support from external sources to scaffold educational partnerships.

Morning Lightning⚡Session

L1A - Practice Makes Perfect-ish, Virginia Tech’s Annular Eclipse Experience

Presentation Slides

Abstract: Virginia Tech’s high-altitude ballooning team is relatively new with much of the
team forming with being selected as one of the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project’s (NEBP) engineering track teams.  The team began practicing high-altitude balloon flights in April 2023 with a goal of launching NEBP payloads on one flight string in addition to Virginia Tech student built payloads on a second flight string for the October 2023 annular eclipse.  One of the biggest challenges with a high-altitude balloon flight during an eclipse is having a relatively small launch window which will achieve the goal of having the balloon at target altitude range during the few minutes of totality.  Along with this challenge of a flight during the eclipse, the Virginia Tech team faced challenges of handling two balloon launches within the launch window with a reduced personnel size due to the distance of the launch site from the home institution.  The team also faced a number of last minute hardware issues which impacted the launch day timeline from concurrent filling to sequential filling of balloons.  For this conference, we present an overview of the team’s experience of launching high-altitude balloons during the October 2023 annular eclipse outside of Roswell, NM, and how creating and practicing a launch timeline made a difference for our team.  In addition, we present Virginia Tech’s two flight strings, their payloads, their flight tracks and the overall results for each of the flight strings.  Lastly, we present a few of our lessons learned in preparation for the April 2024 total solar eclipse.

L1B - Expanding Eclipse Research Accessibility to Blind & Visually Impaired Students

Presentation Slides

Abstract: According to the CDC, Blind and visually impaired (B/VI) students make up approximately 3% of the total student population of the US. These students cannot participate in and benefit from many STEM experiences, including the total solar Eclipse passing through Indiana in 2024. However, recent technological innovations have begun to remove this barrier. In Spring 2023, NearSpace Education (NSE) partnered with Tactile Engineering, Inc., an Indiana tech startup, to increase the accessibility of the Eclipse to B/VI individuals. Tactile Engineering manufactures a device that allows B/VI students to view graphics, monitor data from experiments, and even experience live video of the eclipse in the same way sighted audiences do. NSE used these devices to display the atmospheric data collected by a high-altitude balloon in real time for the students to experience. Trials of this dual system with the students from the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired took place in October 2023 with great success, and plans are in place to expand the capabilities of this learning experience for the Total Solar Eclipse in April. During this presentation, we will share about this technology breakthrough, our experience with B/VI students as we prepared them for the October annular eclipse, the results from the October test, and our plans to increase the number of B/VI individuals that can “physically” experience the eclipse in ways that were previously not possible.

L1C - St. Cloud State Participation in NEBP

Presentation Slides

Abstract: In 2022, a faculty member from St. Cloud State University (SCSU) was invited to participate in a national project specifically geared toward stratospheric ballooning. Supported by a team of six undergraduate students with academic backgrounds in atmospheric science and science education, the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) provided numerous learning opportunities for all involved. From introduction to the project to launching balloons for 30 straight hours in October 2023, this presentation will focus on the experiences of faculty and students from SCSU in the context of this “new to us” project.

Topics to be discussed will include events and processes relating to discovery of the project; finding regional academic partnerships; student recruitment (and retention!); training up on the equipment via workshops; perceived benefits of the cohort method associated with training faculty and students; teaching and learning the ins and outs of stratospheric ballooning; obtaining financial support for student participants; preparing for field deployment; life in the fieldwork phase; challenges encountered; and lessons learned throughout. Perspectives from both the faculty member and students will be presented and sample data will be shared. Additional space and time will be dedicated to how lessons learned during the 2023 eclipse phase will inform routines and practices during the 2024 eclipse.

L1D - Launching in Cities: Everything that Can Go Wrong, Will

Presentation Slides

Abstract: This presentation walks through a detailed breakdown of Dillard University and Delgado Community College’s Atmospheric teams’ preparation for the Annular Eclipse in 2023. Our selected destination was San Antonio, TX, in the city’s airspace. In order to prepare our team, our practice launches were held in New Orleans under the New Orleans International Airport’s airspace. We had extensive conversations with our local Air Traffic Controller which led us to begin communication with San Antonio Air Traffic Control a month prior to our launch date.Our presentation will discuss what we learned about the challenges launching high-altitude balloons in high traffic areas. We present a timeline to notify local and regional airports, who to contact to submit a HIBAL (High Altitude Ballooning) worksheet form and flight prediction maps. We walk through updates that may be requested by airports and cover what went wrong.Our lessons learned include several potential disasters, the worst of which was being shut down by San Antonio Air Traffic Control. Other challenges included notifying a nearby Air Force Base, finding a new launch location overnight, adverse weather, communication challenges, the tight timeline to contact each airport at launch, landing, and 30,000 feet.The team presents what it learned about planning for alternate launch sites in advance, creating checklists, writing a script to communicate with Air traffic control, a list of what to include in any communication with airports, the importance of setting countdown timers, converting your latitude and longitude to a fixed radial distance before filing a NOTAM, ensuring you have the proper city and neighborhood permits, contacting local police and sheriff’s departments, printing and keeping all communication in a readily available, visible, and labeled binder.

L1E - Annular Eclipse Reflections And Stories | What Went Wrong, What Went Right, Collaboration With Others, Where We Were At, And Results From The Eclipse

Presentation Slides

Abstract: The Annular Eclipse occurred in Fall on October 14, 2023, and The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project and individuals alike flocked all across the western half of the United States to catch a glimpse of the eclipse along the path of annularity. NEBP teams were scattered, ranging from NASA in Albuquerque to Casper College in Richfield, Utah. In Richfield, one of the best cities for viewing, the eclipse coincided with a fall festival alongside a STEM outreach event for kids and families to come learn more about STEM. There, Casper College set up base to begin launching ballooning, followed by colleges and universities from Chicago, IL; Central Wyoming College in Riverton, WY; and the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The event enabled Casper College NEBP students to showcase the project to eager, curious children and a chance to collaborate with adjacent teams and see what they changed within the project. Overall, the experience provided a valuable opportunity to compare and contrast with the work of the Wyoming Space Engineers (WySE) in Casper, WY. Regardless, a plethora of trials and tribulations happened and it appeared to have been a universal struggle with live streaming data to lost parachutes and balloons. Everyone’s experience was different but we hope to learn and improve from our first eclipse and gear up for the total eclipse in April.

L1F - Investigation of Position Accuracy of the NEO-M9N u-blox GPS as a Function of Polling Rate in Support of NEBP Stratospheric Balloon Flights

Presentation Slides

Abstract: The Nationwide Eclipse Balloon Project (NEBP) is using weather balloon flights to study atmospheric phenomena in the troposphere and stratosphere, and the effects of solar eclipses on such phenomena. One phenomenon being studied is atmospheric gravity waves. In the study of gravity waves from balloon-borne platforms, a high accuracy and high update frequency GPS is required. Both the NEBP’s RFD900 and PTERODACTYL data loggers use the NEO-M9N u-blox GPS (hereafter just called the M9N). The M9N has a maximum polling rate of 25 Hz and an advertised 1.5 meters of horizontal accuracy. This presentation will describe observed effects on accuracy for various polling rates of the M9N. When polled slower than 10 Hz, the M9N can communicate with a maximum of 32 satellites at any one time. This means that at 9.9 Hz the M9N will be able to see 32 satellites, but at 10 Hz the M9N will drop to a maximum of 16 satellites. This suggests that the M9N might have a better accuracy at a lower sampling rate, since more GPS satellites are able to be taken into account. However, ground testing has shown that this is not the case – the M9N has better accuracy when polled at 20 Hz than when polled at 8 Hz. It also has a much faster resolution speed, reaches high-accuracy more quickly upon start-up, and has better steady state accuracy. The reason for this might simply be that the M9N can get all it needs for position accuracy from only 16 satellites and that it derives essentially no benefit (or at least not in position accuracy) from communicating with up to 32 satellites.

L1G - The Balloon Quick Fill Connector (BQFC)

Presentation Slides

Abstract: Preparing and launching weather balloons can be a time-consuming process, taking up to twenty minutes and multiple personnel. The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) requires a balloon launch every hour for thirty hours, this necessitates an efficient process. The Balloon Quick Fill Connector (BQFC) identified two areas for improvement: attaching the balloon to the fill nozzle, and accurately filling the balloon to achieve a 5m/s ascent rate. The BQFC team created a clamping system that enables one person to attach the balloon to the helium fill nozzle in about 15 seconds. This clamping system was able to withstand the upward forces of the balloon while maintaining a secure connection between the fill nozzle and balloon, without helium leakage. The team incorporated the fill nozzle into a floating tripod mount that enables the user to reliably fill to the minimum buoyancy needed for a 5m/s accent. The tripod system has been designed to slide vertically upward with the force generated by the balloon. When the desired buoyancy is achieved, the tripod system rises to its upper vertical limit, indicating the balloon is ready to be launched. With these two innovations, BQFC has reduced the time it takes to fill and launch a balloon to less than two minutes and greatly increased the consistency of our balloon's ascent rate. This system was used during the October 2023 annular eclipse. The BQFC team intends to utilize this system for the April 2024 total eclipse.

Standard Talks 2

S2A - NEBP Iso-Switch Test Fixture

Presentation Slides

Abstract: A simple hardware test fixture has been provided to all the NEBP Engineering teams for evaluation of their tracking and control payloads. This talk will go over the use of this test fixture to build team confidence in understanding the subtle details that make the system function.

The NEBP Iso-Switch board is used for testing Iridium, OCCAMS, Vent and Cutdown boards as a system on the bench as well as through Iridium email commands. XBEE radio modules are used to communicate commands and status between the various payloads. The Iso-Switch board plugs in between the OCCAMS board and the Iridium tracking modem providing a visual indication of input and output pin states. An Iridium or Switches switch allows users to select the email control or switch control of the system. The emails can be sent and a visual indicator will show the current state of the system. The Iridium modem will need to be outside and have a clear view of the sky in this mode. Switches can be set to simulate the three pin commands used to control various payload functions. This testing can be done inside on the bench.

This easy to use test fixture allows teams of the NEBP to broaden their understanding of the tracking and control payloads as well as test out their complete systems before flights.

S2B - How does a solar eclipse affect the Earth's atmosphere?

Presentation Slides

Abstract: This project aims to collaborate with the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) to deploy sensors up to 110,000 feet into the Earth's atmosphere via weather balloons before, during, and after a solar eclipse. The data collected will be analyzed to determine the height of the planetary boundary layer, and the presence of gravity waves following the eclipse. During the annular eclipse on October 14, 2023, our team from Central Washington University traveled to Chiloquin, Oregon. Beginning at 16:14 UTC, balloons with atmospheric sensors were launched every hour until 6 hours after the eclipse. In addition to the data collected by the radiosondes, ground conditions were recorded by a stationary sensor near the launch site. Visual observations before and after the eclipse were made as well. Because it rained most of the night preceding the eclipse, the data collected during that period will make it difficult to discern effects of the eclipse in the troposphere. Cloud cover may have also prevented the boundary layer from being strongly affected by the eclipse. Following totality, waves in the clouds were visually observed, but it is unclear if this resulted from the eclipse. There are several instances in the airborne sensor data where it appears the sensor briefly connected to a different receiver than its own, resulting in large jumps in position and atmospheric conditions. These instances must be removed from the data. Once cleaned, the data will be fed into a set of algorithms and computer programs to estimate the height of the planetary boundary layer before, during, and after the annular eclipse. Next, we will look for evidence of atmospheric gravity waves as a result of the eclipse.

S2C - Determination of Planetary boundary layer height

Presentation Slides

Abstract: An Annular eclipse passed over North America on October 14th, 2023. A team from the University of Idaho launched Graw radiosondes on the hour from Lakeview Oregon, starting on October 13th at 15:00 UTC ending on October 14th at 22:00 UTC. The flight profiles were analyzed using three different analytical methods for determining the planetary boundary layer height. The potential temperature gradient method for determining the planetary boundary layer height is examined by identifying its maximum value with this indicating the planetary boundary layer height. The Virtual potential temperature methods identifies large deviations from its ground value and determines this to be the planetary boundary height. The Bulk Richardson method uses stability calculations to determine when a critical threshold is met and this is where this method determines the planetary boundary layer height to be. From these three analytical methods, that vary in their determination of the planetary boundary layer height, atmospheric conditions of saturation, stability, and whether a nocturnal boundary layer is present were analyzed to determine which method was to be chosen for each flight. During the annular solar eclipse the planetary boundary layer stayed consistent which on a day without an annular eclipse one would expect to see a large increase in the planetary boundary height. These findings are consistent with the expected outcomes.

S2D - Arizona Eclipse Ballooning Project

Presentation Slides

Abstract: Arizona State University (ASU), the University of Arizona (UA), and Casa Grande Union High School (CGUHS) worked collaboratively on the development and deployment of a high-altitude balloon with the goals to (a) improve launch logistics, (b) optimize video streaming capabilities, (c) design, test, and implement 3D-printed payload housings, and (d) engage a large audience through social media and outreach efforts.

We opted for the unmanned free balloon without the implementation of the cutoff mechanism. During our launch in Roswell, New Mexico for the Annular Solar Eclipse, we aimed to achieve an ascent rate of 5-6 m/s and a total flight duration of ~ 1 hour and 30 minutes achieving burst at between 85,000-90,000 feet. Despite numerous successful practice launches, we instead reached an average ascent rate of just 1-2 m/s with a flight duration of 3 hours and 45 minutes, still bursting at ~89,000 feet (~27,000 meters). We have determined the cause of this complication to be the result of a miscalculation of the lift weight. Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) acted as our recovery team and traveled to the new predicted landing site during the flight, recovering the payloads over ~ 80 miles from the border of New Mexico/Texas to northeast of Lubbock, Texas, far surpassing the intended landing location. Though the flight parameters did not align with our expectations, we were successful in nearly every other aspect of the launch thanks to our practice as mentioned in earlier launches.

We 3D-printed the housings for all payload systems, except the Raspberry Pi camera system. ASU developed the Iridium housing using Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) and Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PET-G) filaments to withstand potential high-velocity crashes. UA developed the RFD900 and PTERODACTYL housings using PET-G filament and Polyethylene foam (pool noodles). Due to weight and time constraints, we used Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) for the Raspberry Pi camera system housing. It was observed upon retrieval that each system housing survived the impact. Though being highly durable and offering adequate protection, the 3D-printed housings present two drawbacks: (1) extended printing time and (2) increased material weight.

ASU’s ground station team optimized the network stability and performance of the Ubiquiti long-range radio system by diagnosing and troubleshooting network parameters during extensive testing, making use of a Ubiquiti WiFiMan Wizard. Minor network disruption was encountered periodically before a complete loss of connectivity at an altitude of 22,500 feet and a total distance from the ground station of 28.5 miles, approximately 1 hour into the flight. This was a significant improvement from what we encountered during previous practice flights.

In analyzing the dataset gathered during the flight, key data points were selected to illustrate changes in atmospheric conditions. At Point A, 15 minutes before the start of annularity, the temperature and pressure were 35.26℉ (1.81℃) and 0.21ATM. At Point B, at the moment of annularity, the temperature and pressure were 26.47℉ (-3.07℃) and 0.15ATM. At Point C, 15 minutes after the start of annularity, the temperature and pressure were 21.7℉ (-5.72℃) and 0.1ATM. The change in temperature between Point A and Point B shows a temperature difference of 8.79℉. Between Points B and C, the change was 4.77℉.

In addition to our science goals, our team focused on social media and outreach initiatives, aiming to connect with a diverse audience ranging from high schools and universities to the general public. We showcased our project to students and attendees from various institutions, including Eastern New Mexico University (Roswell), ASU Prep College and Career Fair, ASU Space Business Association, ASU Astronomy Club, Joliet Township High School, and Casa Grande Union High School. The culmination of our efforts was a successful Annular Solar Eclipse viewing party and launch live-streaming event on ASU’s Tempe Campus, hosted in partnership with the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) outreach team. There were over 400 people physically in attendance. We garnered over 200 viewers on the YouTube livestream. On social media, we have over 142 followers and have reached more than 1,547 accounts, having accumulated over 10,000 impressions.