ACES-62 Flight Info

LAUNCH TIME: May 22, 2019 @ 11:46:15 UTC
LAUNCH LOCATION: Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Tx
CUTDOWN TIME: 13:09:38 UTC
AVERAGE ASCENT RATE: 1316 ft/min @60000ft
CUTDOWN ALTITUDE: 100000 ft
TOUCHDOWN TIME: 13:44:30 UTC
TOUCHDOWN LOCATION: Latitude: 32.2250667 Longitude: -95.0466000

ACES-62 Frequencies:
Primary Beacon: 144.390, ID: K5LSU-11
Secondary Beacon: 144.390, ID: W5YUM-11
Special Beacon: Iridium, Link = ACES-62 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-62
Valid only during flight operations
K5LSU-11 Primary Beacon K5LSU-11 Tracker (single window) K5LSU-11 Range and Bearing to nearest VOR K5LSU-11 Raw Packets
W5YUM-11 Secondary Beacon W5YUM-11 Tracker (single window) W5YUM-11 Range and Bearing to nearest VOR W5YUM-11 Raw Packets
Example K5LSU-11 GPS Position Data – $GPGGA sentence.
K5LSU-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:/143928h3024.74N/09110.75WO000/000/A=000075!wP0!
K5LSU-11 Telemetry Infomation:
example telemetry format: K5LSU-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:T#000,12.48,0004,305,304,0009
telemetry decode format: K5LSU-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 W5YUM-11 GPS Position Data – APRS Text format.
W5YUM-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:/143928h3024.74N/09110.75WO000/000/A=000075!wP0!
W5YUM-11 Telemetry Infomation:
example telemetry format: W5YUM-11>APTT4,WIDE2-1:T#000,12.48,0004,305,304,0009
telemetry decode format: W5YUM-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 K5LSU-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 144.390 MHz at 500mW sending APRS packet data every 79s. Call W5YUM-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: Delgado Community College
Experiment 02: Southeastern Louisiana University
Experiment 03: McNeese Radio Team
Experiment 04: McNeese TEMET
Experiment 05: Grambling University
Experiment 06: McNeese R2O3
Experiment 07: LSU MegaSAT
  Total Weight = 11 lbs