Successful OA Schools balloon launch proves ‘the sky’s the limit’

June 14 was a perfect morning for the Owego Apalachin (OA) Schools Blue Horizon Club to launch a weather balloon outside Owego Apalachin Middle School (OAMS). Mild early temperatures accompanied clear blue skies as hundreds of students and faculty encircled the launch site on the school grounds. 

After about eight to nine launches over the course of the last six to seven years, the June 14 launch proved just as exciting, with added state-of-the-art tracking techniques. The science-minded wiz-kids and their teachers checked and double-checked last minute details before students and faculty initiated the countdown.

Cameras and GPS devices were safely secured inside a box, as was a note for anyone who might find the contents before the chase team tracked it down. Helium filled the balloon to approximately five feet in diameter prior to take-off, and an attached parachute was ready to deliver it back to station Earth.  

While floating in the sky and on its descent, the balloon’s Go-Pro camera was readied to capture extraordinary views of the landscape below. According to science teacher John Heath, previous balloon launches have captured amazing photos at altitudes of some 75,000 feet.

Within just three minutes after launch, the balloon had already traveled some 11,000 feet, and just prior to that the quest for a record egg drop release was set off by a coded program at 800 feet. Depending on weather patterns, such as wind conditions, the balloon’s flight, according to Heath, was estimated to last about 50 minutes. Once the balloon burst, after expanding about four times its original diameter, the parachute trip back down was anticipated to be about 45 minutes.  

Students predicted that the balloon would travel as far as New Milford or Clarks Summit, Pa., and GPS helped students identify that touchdown occurred near Montrose, Pa. A chase team picked up the box contents and returned to school later in the day to begin analyzing data. 

To learn more about the results of the launch, find OA Schools on Facebook and Twitter.  To view a brief video, visit the Owego Pennysaver on Facebook.