BASE Research
The Balloon Assisted Stratospheric Experiments (BASE) project is operated under the Physics & Astronomy Department at DePauw University with Dr. Howard Brooks.
Presently, the program uses high altitude weather balloons to carry scientific experiments into the stratosphere. Plans are under development to use alternative balloon materials to allow for extended duration flights.
The experiments are designed by DePauw students and by students at various schools in West Central Indiana. Radios operating in the amateur radio bands relay positional information obtained from the Global Positioning Satellite network to tracking teams on the ground.
Most recent flight:
BASE 115 30 July 2022 Launched from Julian Science and Mathematics Center. Tandem balloons with the hope of cutting one away at 15 km (50000). Cutdown occurred early. The ascent continued at a slower rate until burst at 29 km. Landed northeast of the intersection of State Roads 37 and 144 in Johnson County, Indiana.
Resources
- A brochure describing the program
- Summary of BASE flights
- High Altitude Chamber Construction Manual
- High Altitude Chamber Operations Manual
- Cambridge Space Flight flight prediction webpage
- S3Research Flight Predictor webpage
- BASE You Tube Channel
- Some flight profiles are available from Google Earth (select your flight(s) under "Places")
- Live Tracking at: aprs.fi/w9yj-11 or map.findu.com/w9yj-11
Media Gallery