View from above April 26 2016, photo by Cloud Punchers
Filling the balloon photo by Cloud Punchers April 26 2016
Balloon update!
The UWinnipeg Cloud Punchers weather balloon was launched on Tuesday, April 26 at 8:10am from FortWhyte Alive. The total flight time was 93 minutes, touching back down by 9:43am. The SPOT GPS tracker located touchdown in Lorette, Manitoba. Data, photos and video footage will be showcased at the upcoming Science Rendezvous at the University of Manitoba on Saturday, May 7 from 11 am to 3 pm. Everyone is welcome!
Original news release Tuesday, April 26, 2016
WINNIPEG, MB – For the second year a University of Winnipeg team called the UW Cloud Punchers (CWE-HABEX) will launch a high altitude balloon at FortWhyte Alive (1961 McCreary Road) on Tuesday, April 26 at 8:00 am. Equipped with a camera and sensors for recording atmospheric data, the balloon launch is part of an international initiative called the Global Space Balloon Challenge (GSBC) and a national project called the Canada-Wide High Altitude Balloon Experiment (HABEX) with all of the teams launching balloons the third week of April. Six students with the University of Winnipeg Geography & Environmental Students Association are participating. Universities and high schools gather, analyze, and share environmental data and high definition video from the experiments.
The UWinnipeg experiment will measure global time, GPS position, ultraviolet/infrared/visible light, barometric pressure, temperature, acceleration, angular rotation and magnetic field. The data will be sent to the University of Regina and the video footage will be available for public viewing at the UWinnipeg Science Rendezvous which takes place on Saturday, May 7 on the University of Manitoba campus.
2016 UW Cloud Punchers – Geneva Cloutis, Jeremy Leathers, Kimberly Thomson, Adrienne Ducharme, Hailey Robichaud, and Justine Backer – photo supplied
Adrienne Ducharme is one of the UWinnipeg students involved. She is currently finishing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geography, and will be starting a Masters in Science, in Bioscience, Technology and Public Policy, in May 2016 at the University of Winnipeg. “Science is all about being able to understand how we can inform, impact and interact with the environment in our daily lives and to always ask questions and look for answers to those questions,” she says.
The UWinnipeg weather balloon is large and white, weighing 600 grams with a one meter parachute. It will be launched using helium. Last year’s UWinnipeg balloon went “missing in action” for 24 hours before being successfully recovered by the team in Dugald. The 2015 experiment led to some interesting findings and the event is summarized in this great video.
The Global Space Balloon Challenge (GSBC) invites people from around the world to simultaneously fly high altitude balloons from every corner of the globe. By providing a specified launch window and central online platform, the GSBC enables teams to showcase their unique cultures while working together to educate the next generation and push the boundaries of what is technologically feasible. This year 392 teams from 53 countries have registered to fly balloons, from all backgrounds, ages, and walks of life.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
