Upper atmospheric launch platform video

[jpowell]

I just put a new video up at the JP Aerospace site. This clip is of the Prototype Dark Sky Station preperation and lift off. This DSS is a small one (27 feet in diameter). Just a baby station but it's a view of things to come. The flight was in 2001.<br /><br />www.jpaerospace.com<br /><br />JP

 

[rogers_buck]

Nice animation.

 

[jpowell]

The animation on the front page has been there for a while. The link to the video page is at the top. <br /><br />The new video is real people, very dirty from three days in the desert, launching the vehicle.

 

[rogers_buck]

Thanks. Nice videos. My favorite is the decent.

 

[mrmorris]

Coupla questions:<br /><br />1. Why are you using heilum rather than hydrogen for your balloons? Hydrogen would provide much better performance. I would think it would also be cheaper to obtain (although I could easily be wrong on this). The only downside of hydrogen that I'm aware of is that it's flamable. However -- since your away missions are unmanned, and there seems to be little chance of sparking given the balloon configurations you're using, this would seem to be of little concern.<br /><br />2. Your site indicates you're using the BASIC Stamp computers (or at least they're a sponser, so I'm assuming you're using them). <br /> a. What function do these modules provide for the platforms?<br /> b. Have you looked into using Gumstix computers? They provide many times the computing power and memory of the Stamp modules for an comparable size, weight, and power consumption -- without costing much more. Without knowing the answer to 'a', of course, I don't know that you <b>need</b> more computing power or memory... but it very seldom hurts. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[jpowell]

The issue of Helium vs. Hydrogen ends up having more to do with non flight factors. Storage (building lease issues), insurance increases, etc. are the big factors.<br /><br />We use Basic Stamps in everything, camera controllers, telemetry systems, data gathering and command and control are just a few. There are six on the up coming Away 26 mission. We believe in distributed intelligence on our systems. The Basic Stamps have a huge support base out in the community and that really make a difference.<br />We're not even using the fastest stamps yet.<br /><br />John Powell<br />JP Aerospace