Mission 6 was launched on May 4, 2014 at 8:00 am from Anderson Valley High School.  

 

Mission 6 Goals:

 

• Capture HD video from the peak altitude. 

• Reduce camera fogging.

• Send a collection of seeds to test the effects of high altitude radiation on seed germination.

• Record solar and cosmic radiation data from high altitudes.

• Record internal and external temperature data.

• Recover the craft

 

With the launch initially scheduled for May 3, the first attempt was aborted due to balloon failure caused by high winds.  As the balloon was inflated and brought onto the tarmac for launch, the unusually high early morning winds ripped a hole in the soft latex of the balloon, causing a loss of at least half the total volume of helium.  The balloon was quickly patched and brought back inside the hangar to preserve the remaining gas.  The launch was postponed until the following morning.

 

On the morning of May 4, a second balloon was inflated to half-capacity, using up the remaining available helium.  An attempt to transfer helium from the damaged balloon to the new balloon failed, and the team was left with two half-inflated balloons, one with a make-shift patch.  

 

After examining the structural integrity and the total amount of lift supplied by the two balloons, it was determined that there was just enough lift power if the two balloons were attached together.  Not really sure what the results of the launch would be, as we had never launched a payload with two balloons, the team threw caution to the wind (pun intended) and released the craft.  

 

The result was a craft taht traveled the second-greatest distance of all six missions, touching down 137.5 miles away in the Plumas National Forest.  In the vast expanse of wilderness, the craft remarkably landed 200 feet off of a paved road, making recovery efforts easy, other than a long round trip drive.

 

The gamble was well worth it, as the team successfully received high-altitude radiation data for the first time ever.  The impressive data shows a sharp rise in radiation as the craft ascended to an estimated altitude of 82,000 feet.  The radiation reaches upwards of 720 counts per minute, about 60 times the background radiation levels that occur at sea level.

 

The seeds were successfully recovered and germinated.  While some differences were noted in the germination and growth of earth seeds vs. space seeds, the results are inconclusive. Further research is planned for the next missions.