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The Use Of Low-Cost ‘Balloonsats’ For Stem Education With 3d Printing, Jeremy Straub, Josh Berk, John Nordlie, Ronald Marsh
The Use Of Low-Cost ‘Balloonsats’ For Stem Education With 3d Printing, Jeremy Straub, Josh Berk, John Nordlie, Ronald Marsh
Jeremy Straub
A new technology, known as 3D printing, allows the rap-id fabrication of plastic structures of virtually any config-uration. These structures are light-weight, dura-ble and inexpensive. This paper considers the utility of utilizing 3D printing to create enclosures for ‘BalloonSats’ – small, low-cost spacecraft analog which can be utilized by students to understand space engi-neering, conduct near-space science (e.g., physics, bio-logical and other experiments) and touch the edge of space.
Solar Ballooning: A Low-Cost Alternative To Helium Balloons For Small Spacecraft Testing, John Nordlie, Jeremy Straub, Chris Theisen, Ronald Marsh
Solar Ballooning: A Low-Cost Alternative To Helium Balloons For Small Spacecraft Testing, John Nordlie, Jeremy Straub, Chris Theisen, Ronald Marsh
Jeremy Straub
Helium-filled latex weather balloons have been utilized to carry small satellite prototypes and subsystems into the stratosphere to allow testing in a “near space” environment. This provides a variety of environmental factors similar to the space environment, such as a rarified atmosphere, increased thermal stress, increased solar radiation, the necessity of remote command and control, tracking, and telemetering of data. While this method of flight testing has been well-proven, a recent spike in the price of helium has driven the cost of such test programs to much higher levels. In this poster, an alternative technology to provide the flight mechanism, …