ACES-60 Flight Info

LAUNCH TIME: May 15, 2018 @ 00:00:00 UTC
LAUNCH LOCATION: Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Tx
CUTDOWN TIME: 00:00:00 UTC
AVERAGE ASCENT RATE: TBD
CUTDOWN ALTITUDE: TBD
TOUCHDOWN TIME: 00:00:00 UTC
TOUCHDOWN LOCATION: Latitude: TBD Longitude: TBD

ACES-60 Frequencies:
Primary Beacon: 144.39, ID: AD5VC-11
Secondary Beacon: 144.31, ID: KG5TRW-11
Special Beacon: Iridium, Link = ACES-60 Iridium Tracking Link
(This link will not be active until the iridium beacon is fully powered on the day of flight.)

The iridium beacons can also be tracked using the MSU Borealis site – Borealis Flight tracker


Live online tracking of ACES-60
Valid only during flight operations
AD5VC-11 Primary Beacon AD5VC-11 Tracker (single window) AD5VC-11 Range and Bearing to nearest VOR AD5VC-11 Raw Packets
KG5TRW-11 Secondary Beacon KG5TRW-11 Tracker (single window) KG5TRW-11 Range and Bearing to nearest VOR KG5TRW-11 Raw Packets
Example AD5VC-11 GPS Position Data – $GPGGA sentence.
AD5VC-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:/143928h3024.74N/09110.75WO000/000/A=000075!wP0!
AD5VC-11 Telemetry Infomation:
example telemetry format: AD5VC-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:T#000,12.48,0004,305,304,0009
telemetry decode format: AD5VC-11>APRS,WIDE2-1,qAR,KB5LS-1:T#nnn,aa.aa,xxxx,ccc,ddd,tttt

nnn=telemetry record number   ccc=inside temperature in kelvins
aa.aa=main battery volts      ddd=outside temperature in kelvins
xxxx=NOT USED        tttt=timing reference
Example KG5TRW-11 GPS Position Data – APRS Text format.
KG5TRW-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:/143928h3024.74N/09110.75WO000/000/A=000075!wP0!
KG5TRW-11 Telemetry Infomation:
example telemetry format: KG5TRW-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:T#000,12.48,0004,305,304,0009
telemetry decode format: KG5TRW-11>APRS,WIDE2-1,qAR,KB5LS-1:T#nnn,aa.aa,xxxx,ccc,ddd,tttt

nnn=telemetry record number   ccc=inside temperature in kelvins
aa.aa=main battery volts      ddd=outside temperature in kelvins
xxxx=NOT USED        tttt=timing reference

Live Map Tracking. Only valid during an active flight


Flight Systems:

Balloon Manufacturer Scientific Sales
Balloon Type latex
Balloon Size 2000 gram
Nozzle Lift ~17.5 pounds (estimate)
Free Lift % ~5.6 pounds (estimate)
Ascent Rate 1000 fpm (target)
Descent Rate 1400 fpm (estimate)
Peak Altitude 100,000 ft. (target)
Launch Conditions TBD

Payload Configuration:

Parachute: Skyangle 60"
Cutdown Apparatus: Nichrome heating element to melt nylon cord attaching top of parachute to balloon.  Controlled by ground command through location beacon transceiver.  Contains own batteries. Also contains audio beeper.
Primary Beacon: MicroTrak TT4 transceiver transmitting MHz at 500mW sending APRS packet data every 37s. Call AD5VC-11
Trimble Lassen iQ GPS/Active patch antenna.
Telemetry, Battery Voltage, Pressure, Temperature (in, out)
Antenna: Half wave flexible J-Pole
Secondary Beacon: MicroTrak TT4 transceiver transmitting 144.31 MHz at 500mW sending APRS packet data every 79s. Call KG5TRW-11
Trimble Lassen iQ GPS/Active patch antenna.
Telemetry, Battery Voltage, Pressure, Temperature (in, out)
Antenna: Half wave flexible J-Pole
Structure: Flight train string, spreader bar, payload clips
Total Flight Support System: TBA
Experiment 01:
Experiment 02:
Experiment 03:
Experiment 04:
Experiment 05:
Experiment 06:
Experiment 07:
  Total Weight = 11 lbs