High Altitude Weather Balloon Launch III for Measuring Environmental Pollution

Khan, Shamiha

Student Work

High Altitude Weather Balloon Launch III for Measuring Environmental Pollution

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The threat of climate change means monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at the atmospheric level is significant in maintaining the health of the planet. The high-altitude ballooning (HAB) project aims to measure GHG levels by launching a payload equipped with environmental sensors into the stratosphere. In this third iteration of the project, the team set two goals: (1) to obtain a full flight of continuous data collection and real-time transmission of environmental data during the flight. During the first successful flight in December, we met the goal of real-time data transmission mid-flight was partially successful as we were not able to receive packets of data at a continuous interval of time. Unfortunately, unexpected strong wind currents forced the payload to land in the Atlantic Ocean, where it was irretrievable. It is unknown whether improvements we made to the payload design led to a successful collection of a full flight’s worth of data. The next test in March consisted of carrying the payload to the summit of Mt. Wachusett. This test was a success as the base station received data continuously from the payload transmitter when adequate line of sight was maintained. Overall, we made significant progress in the continued development of the HAB project by creating a data transmission system and improving the reliability of our data collection.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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