Colorado State University – Pueblo Announces High Altitude Balloon Launch Date
 
Pueblo- The Colorado Space Grant Consortium at Colorado State University-Pueblo will launch a high altitude balloon to a height of approximately 100,000 feet, or 21 miles. The launch will take place on campus at 8 a.m. on Saturday, December 11. The public is encouraged to attend and witness the launch.
 
Two teams of students from McClelland Middle School have designed, built, and tested payloads to be flown on the balloon. The students, known as Junior Space Engineers, have devised science experiments that will be carried to the edge of space and will collect valuable data during this two-hour flight. In addition, two payloads designed by CSU-Pueblo and Metro State College of Denver students will fly on the same balloon. The total weight of all payloads and tracking equipment will be less than 20 pounds.
 
The wind is expected to carry the balloon in an easterly direction toward Kansas. By tracking the balloon with radio beacons, the students will be able to give chase and recover their payloads.
If weather conditions - such as wind, rain or snow - prevent launching the balloon on the morning of December 11, the launch will be rescheduled for Sunday, December 12.
For more information contact Mechanical Engineering Technology Professor and Department Chair Wolfgang Sauer at (719) 549-2884 or via email him at wolfgang.sauer@colostate-pueblo.edu.

 
Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.