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[pojo]

The launch was Friday (Aug 8th)......I just got home from a family vacation late Friday night and was totally in the dark about the whole current launch. I can fill you in about the project, but due to my vacation, launch and recovery details are sketchy.

First Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium 'satellite' launch scheduled for this week

GREEN BAY - A six-member team of student scientists and engineers is preparing to launch the first student-designed "satellite" under an innovative Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium program.

Students from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering will launch a high-altitude balloon that will carry its payload 100,000 feet or higher; a height considered to be at the "edge" of space. The team then will follow the balloon as it is carried by winds in the upper atmosphere and attempt to retrieve the payload after it lands.

The launch is scheduled to take place at about 5:30 a.m. Friday (Aug. 8) at the athletic fields on the UW-Eau Claire campus. The western Wisconsin location was selected because the geography, roads and prevailing winds are favorable for tracking the payload and a dry-land "splashdown" up to 100 miles from the launch site.

The launch date and time are considered tentative because of the need for nearly calm conditions.

The student team members are Shannon Smith, UW-Green Bay; Nicholas Beyer, Marquette University; Matthew Opgenorth, Marquette University; Eric Jacob, MSOE; Cara Piggott, MSOE; and Lee Sharping, MSOE. The faculty adviser is Joe Majdalani, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Marquette University.

The satellite project is the first to be funded through a $99,950 grant the Space Grant Consortium was awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The grant supports student-designed satellites and satellite payload projects.

Engineering issues the students will face mimic real problems that NASA researchers routinely face, according to Dr. R. Aileen Yingst, director of the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium.

The students will test their instruments, analyze data and review the entire process of launching and retrieving the payload, Yingst said. Among the data to be analyzed will be pictures taken from the edge of space.

Yingst said the satellite project is one of the first of its kind to be tried in Wisconsin. Students from universities across Wisconsin will compete to have their payload projects launched in future missions.

Yingst said the most effective way of teaching the importance of space exploration is to provide students with opportunities to explore space themselves.

The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, based at UW-Green Bay, has 24 members including colleges and universities, private businesses, state agencies, educational organizations and other groups.

NASA began the Space Grant Consortium program in 1989 to fund research, education and public service projects leading to better education in aerospace science, mathematics and technology.

(03-154 / 6 August 2003 / SH)

Unfortunately, due to a family vacation, I was unable to attend the launch. I did not know about this launch until today when I read the emails from my advisor. From what I was hearing via emails, the launch was unsuccessful. One of the computers froze up, which means, we lost contact with the payload GPS system. Dr. Yingst put out a 'missing payload' want ad looking for the payload the disappeared around Black River Falls in Western Wisconsin.

[JetMaxx]

Welcome back Shannon!
I hope you had a great vacation. Congratulations on the launch, and best of luck!

[ColdFront77]

Welcome back Shannon.

I have been thinking about you during your vacation, I knew it was well deserved. Congratulations on the launch (although you weren't able to attend)... too bad about the malfunction. Best of luck the upcoming school year.

[David]

Congrats!! And welcome back.

[blizzard]

Welcome back Shannon, how was god 'ol Minnesota treatin' ya this time? Hope all went well, we have a reputation to uphold you know.

Ya sure you betcha we do

[coriolis]

Ditto on the welcome back Pojo. Too bad that you couldn't attend the launch, and sorry to hear about the malfunction. Hopefully the payload and your data will be recovered.

Post counts have been down here, so you better get busy!

[Lindaloo]

welcome back shannon. i know you were excited about the launch and i feel bad you missed it. hopefully the payload will be recovered soon.

hugs

[mf_dolphin]

Welcome back! Missing the launch had to be a bummer and sorry to hear everything didn;t go well with the flight. I guess these are the same types of problems NASA faces everythime they launch as well!

[Colin]

Way Cool! And welcome back!

[azskyman]

The learning process is what the exercise is about...so the fact that there was a launch at all is a success. Now, the team needs to assemble its resources to find the payload and reconstruct the events that allowed it to fail. Still...we are proud to know someone associated with the project.

[Stephanie]

Welcome back Shannon!

That's ashame about the launch, but you should still be proud of what you guys have accomplished!

[pojo]

thanks for the welcome back....although vacation was awesome, its back to the daily real world chores.

Anyways, as of right now, we are still unable to locate the payload and the parachute. Nothing new via email....when more updates come in, I'll surely post them.