Recovering the High Altitude Balloon Pods

October 25, 2009 | Evansville, Indiana | Vetting explained

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gkissel

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gkissel says the balloon flew about 18 miles into the air before bursting. A parachute carried it safely back to Earth -- and into a tree. The local electric company brought in a bucket truck to help students recover it.

iReport —

Engineering students at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, IN sent up experimental pods attached to a weather balloon, which popped at 90,000 feet, and then descended on a parachute. Two GPS trackers were carried in the pods.

Recovery Director, Stephen Baylor, takes his student team to the edge of West Boggs Lake (eastern Daviess County, IN) in an attempt to locate the downed experimental pods based on the last known transmitted GPS coordinates.

Here we see Director Baylor remembering to look up in the trees, and, sure enough, there were the parachute, pods and balloon remnant high in an oak.

Video recording was done by engineering freshman Frank Rynkiewich who fell on his bottom, but picked himself up just in time to record engineering senior Joe Madden jotting down the exact coordinates of the landing point.

Yes, Frank, you should have brought the potato gun!

The flight took place October 24, 2009.

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