Teacher Ross Russell and senior Sadie Wygant install the camera into Hyperion to record the balloon’s journey. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by STEPHANIE FLORES
Special to the Hays Free Press
As fifth-graders from Pfluger Elementary watched in anticipation, Lehman High School Radio Club students launched a “near space” balloon on May 4 from the Lehman High football field.
The massive weather balloon, filled with about 2,000 PSI of helium, floated to the Earth’s upper stratosphere, referred to as near space (as opposed to “outer space”). Lehman’s balloon held a cooler, named “Hyperion,” attached to a parachute.
Hyperion contained a video camera to capture footage of the places it traveled, a GPS tracking device to transmit its position, and foam to hold everything in place.
Senior Zachary McKenzly described the journey of Hyperion.
“When the balloon lifts off the ground and into the air, the helium allows it to float all the way into near space,” McKenzly said. “Once in near space, the cooler [lower] temperature and pressure becomes too much for the balloon, causing it to pop. Because the cooler is attached to a parachute, it will come back safely down to earth, recording where it goes.”
McKenzly said a tracking device on the experiment allowed teachers Ross Russell and Elaine Hunt to chase it. They used a ham radio to transmit information between them and the LHS radio station where teacher Judy Cooper and students tracked the whereabouts of the balloon.
Around 2:35 p.m. the balloon popped at a height of 98,340 ft. Hyperion landed outside of Lexington, 60 miles away from Lehman High. The balloon and equipment were retrieved immediately so the team could study the results.
The near space balloon launch was a test run for the club’s next big experiment: Flying a paper airplane from a record-breaking height.
Although Principal Don Ruisinger announced his retirement from Lehman this year, he still plans to attend next year’s event.
“I am extremely proud of my students and their hard work with this space balloon,” says Ruisinger. “Even though I am not going to be here next year, you can count on me attending.”
Stephanie Flores is a teacher at Lehman High School. Kim Hilsenbeck contributed to this story.
