Last update on Tuesday, 08-Nov-2005 19:26:24 EST
HAL5’s “Proof of Concept”
rockoon mission to take place from
Cerro Gordo, North Carolina at 6:30 AM EST on
Saturday, March 22, 1997
[ When/Where
| Press Release (text)
| Press Kit
| Purpose and Goals
| Schedule of Events ]
[ Site Description
| Directions to Site
| Site Restrictions
| Nearby Accommodations ]
[ Balloon Position
| Rocket Position
| Amateur Radio Frequencies
| Telemetry Decoding
]
ATTENTION ALL READERS -- PRESS KIT OUT -- UPDATES ON HOLD!
Webmaster for this page is now in North Carolina
More data will be posted following the mission on March 22.
Main Date: Saturday, March 22, 1997
Wind Date: Sunday, March 23, 1997
Rain Date: Monday, March 24, 1997
Time: Setup Begins: 1:00 AM EST
Launch Prep: 3:00 AM EST
Balloon Launch: 6:30 AM EST
Rocket Launch: 8:40 AM EST
Where: Farm in Cerro Gordo, Columbus county, in southeast North Carolina
Intersection of North Carolina state highways 76 and 242 -- Follow "HALO" signs
13 miles west of Whiteville, NC
60 miles west of Wilmington, NC
60 miles south of Fayetteville, NC
80 miles south of intersection of interstates 95 and 40
The purpose of Project HALO is to make access to space more
affordable for students, amateurs, experimenters, and researchers. It is combination
technical and educational program. The program is divided into several phases.
All phases have opportunities for student involvement at all grade levels.
- Phase 0 was for developing rocket subsystems and testing them on the ground and at high altitude.
- Phase 1 is to build the rocket and successfully launch it from a balloon.
- Phase 2 will be to develop the operational capability for inexpensive and routine access to
space using rockoons.
See the Project HALO Home Page and
Project HALO Executive Summary for more details.
Project HALO Sky Launch 1 marks the completion milestone for Project HALO Phase 1,
Proof of Concept. As such, this launch attempt represents the final
test for Project HALO to proceed onto Phase 2, Operational Rockoons, when
we can start to launch student payloads.
- Primary Goals of HALO Sky Launch 1
- Launch the balloon without damaging the balloon, gondola, or rocket
- Maintain the temperature inside the oxidizer tank to high altitude
- Successfully launch the rocket from the balloon
- Verify computer predictions using data transmitted from rocket
- Benefits of Meeting Primary Goals
- Gain confidence to proceed onto Project HALO Phase 2
- Have one success from which to approach potential donors and clients
- Honors from Meeting Primary Goals
- First amateur group to have successful rockoon mission
- First group (amateur or professional) to ignite a hybrid rocket at high altitude
- Important data point for future hybrid rockoons
- Important data point for hybrid upper stages
- Secondary Goals of HALO Sky Launch 1
- Have the rocket exceed an altitude of 50 nautical miles
- Recover the rocket
- Recover the balloon gondola
- Benefits of Meeting Secondary Goals
- Have one success from which to approach potential donors and clients
- Can place the recovered rocket in a museum (how about the Air & Space?)
- Can inspect recovered rocket and/or gondola for damage
- Can recover valuable electronics for future reuse
- Can recover "space-qualified" HAL5 membership cards
- Honors from Meeting Secondary Goals
- First amateur group to get their own rocket into space
- First group (amateur or professional) to get a hybrid rocket into space
- First amateur rocket recovered from space
- First payload carried into space by an amateur rocket
- First payload recovered from an amateur rocket launched into space
- First organization with truly "space-qualified" membership cards
- Potential Records from Getting into Space
- Highest altitude achieved by an amateur rocket (by any means)
- Highest altitude achieved by an amateur rocket launched from a balloon (rockoon)
- Highest altitude achieved by an hybrid-motor rocket (any organization)
- Highest altitude achieved by an amateur hybrid-motor rocket
- Least expensive rocket-to-space program, start to first flight -- (less than $ TBD)
- Least expensive rocket space mission, manufacturing and operations -- (less than $ TBD)
- Whiteville, NC -- 13 miles east of site
- Best Western Premiere Inn
- Located on Highway 701 Bypass
- About 100 rooms
- Telephone: 1-800-528-1234
- Local Telephone: 910-642-2378
- FAX Number: 910-642-6214
- Project HALO members will be staying here
- Quincy's Steakhouse
- Next door to Best Western
- Project HALO members to meet there on Friday at 1 PM
- Visitors and Press welcome to meet us there
- Will drive out to Balloon Launch Site from there
- Fayetteville, NC -- 60 miles north of site
- Wilmington, NC -- 60 miles east of site
- Transmissions from the Balloon Gondola
- Live Color Video -- 434.00 MHz AM ATV -- (Cable Ready TV Channel 59)
- Transmissions from the Rocket
- Live Black & White Video -- 1280 MHz FM ATV
- APRS GPS Packet Data -- 441.050 MHz FM
- Chat Frequencies
- Talk-in Frequency at launch site is on 144.34 MHz Simplex
- Talk-in Frequency at launch site is also on 147.21 MHz Simplex repeater
- Also listen to the 146.82 Wilmington repeater (88.5 PL)
See Bill Brown's WB8ELK Home Page at
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~bbrown/ for details.
See Bill Brown's WB8ELK Home Page at
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~bbrown/ for details.
Ad Astra per Ardua -- "To the Stars by Our Own Hands"
For more information on Project HALO, contact HALO Project Manager
Gregory Allison at (256) 859-5538.
Return to the Project HALO Home Page
Return to the HAL5 Home Page
This page is maintained by Ronnie Lajoie. Send queries and suggestions
via E-Mail to: HAL5@nsschapters.org
This file was last modified on Tuesday, 08-Nov-2005 19:26:24 EST
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