Last update on Tuesday, 08-Nov-2005 19:26:50 EST
HAL5 rockoon makes amateur and hybrid rocketry history on May 11!
HAL5 made amateur rocketry history on Sunday, May 11, 1997. At 8:25 AM EDT, HAL5's
Project HALO team performed the first amateur rockoon mission when it successfully launched
its Sky Launch 1 rocket from a high altitude balloon. HAL5 also made hybrid rocketry
history as well, becoming the first organization to launch a hybrid rocket from a high
altitude. Based on an estimated rocket apogee between 30 and 36 nautical miles, HAL5
can now claim the world record for highest altitude achieved to date by an amateur rocket --
and by a hybrid rocket of any kind.
[ Mission Success Press Release
(text)
| Attempt 3 Pre-Mission Press Release
(text)
| Press Kit
]
[ Contact Information
| When/Where
| Schedule of Events
| Purpose and Goals ]
[ Site Description
| Directions to Site
| Site Restrictions
| Nearby Accommodations ]
[ Balloon Position
| Rocket Position
| Amateur Radio Frequencies
| Telemetry Decoding
]
[ Attempt 1 Pre-Mission Press Release
(text)
| Attempt 1 Post-Attempt Press Release
(text)
]
ATTENTION ALL READERS -- FREQUENT UPDATES
HAL5 rockoon makes amateur and hybrid rocketry history on May 11!
An official press release will be issue shortly, containing more details
about the successful rockoon mission. In the meantime, please see the
article written by Bill Brown on his Web page at:
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~bbrown/.
Primary Contact: Greg Allison
HAL5 Project HALO Program Manager
Evening Phone: 256-859-5538
E-mail Address: GHAllison@aol.com
Secondary Contact: Ronnie Lajoie
HAL5 Project HALO Logistics Coordinator
Day Phone: 256-461-5934
Evening Phone: 256-721-1083
FAX Phone: 256-461-2551
Primary E-mail Address: HAL5@nsschapters.org
NSS Headquarters Contact: Karen Rugg
National Space Society, Washington, DC
Day Phone: 202-543-1900
E-mail Address: communications.director@nss.org
Main Date: Saturday, May 10, 1997
(weather and FAA permitting)
Rain/Wind Date 1: Sunday, May 11, 1997
Rain/Wind Date 2: Saturday, May 17?, 1997
Times:
Site Setup begins on Friday afternoon
Launch Operations begin early Saturday: 3:00 AM EST
Balloon Launch: Sunrise (about 6:15 AM EST)
Rocket Launch: about 9:00 AM EST
Where: Grass field in Hampstead, along US highway 17 on east North Carolina coast
Alternate Site: Quarry in Shallotte, on southeast North Carolina coast
HALO Sky Launch 1 starts in Hampstead (Map image courtesy of YaHoo! Maps)
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 a 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 (nmi)
(USA-defined “space” recognized by NASA/USAF/industry =
92.6 km = 57.5 mi)
- Have the rocket exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers (km)
(IAF-defined “space” recognized internationally = 54.0 nmi
= 62.1 mi)
- 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
- 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
- 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 $ 20,000)
- Least expensive rocket space mission, manufacturing and operations -- (less than $ 8,000)
Times:
Site Setup begins on Friday afternoon
Launch Operations begin early Saturday: 3:00 AM EST
Balloon Launch: Sunrise (about 6:15 AM EST)
Rocket Launch: about 9:00 AM EST
The balloon launch site is a grass field 300 feet wide and one mile deep.
The entrance to the site is a short gravel driveway between a line of trees.
- Wilmington, NC -- 20 miles south of site
- Day's Inn -- (we have heard it is sold out for the weekend)
- Located at 5025 Market Street (aka. US 17)
- Rooms cost about $67 per night
- Telephone: 1-800-TBD-TBDD
- Local Telephone: 910-799-6300
- Project HALO members will NOT be staying here
- Hotels and Motels near Wilmington
- Shoney's Restaurant
- Located at 149 South College Road (end of Interstate 40)
- Project HALO members to meet there on Friday at 7 PM
- Visitors and Press welcome to meet us there
- Will drive out to Balloon Launch Site from there
- 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 Yohon Lo at
(256) 658-2043 or via E-Mail at: yohonlo@knology.net.
Send queries and suggestions via E-Mail to: europa59@hotmail.com
This file was last modified on Tuesday, 08-Nov-2005 19:26:50 EST