Undergraduate Thesis Or Project
 

Creation of Western Oregon University Weather Ballooning Program.docx

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  • The addition of a weather ballooning program at Western Oregon University creates research opportunities for the Science Department, allows for projects in professional development for in-service teachers, fosters a partnership with Oregon Space Grant, and creates another option for students participating in the Program for Undergraduate Research Experiences. As the ballooning program is successfully constructed, a launch will be performed to assess functionality. The primary goal of the launch is to demonstrate effectiveness of the ballooning program by taking data on cosmic ray flux, temperature, pressure, and humidity as a function of altitude. The design and implementation of the GPS tracking system, heating circuitry and balloon filling procedure are explained from conceptualization to utilization during launch. These systems function to allow for a successful launch, data acquisition, and recovery. The GPS tracking system functioned properly and allowed for a successful recovery, though the WinAPRS software used functioned poorly and a recommendation that Google Earth be used in future launches is made. The heating circuits functioned properly and a small consideration of what type of battery should power them is discussed. The balloon filling procedure functioned properly, though ways to streamline the process and remove opportunities for human error are suggested. The cosmic ray and pressure data taken during the flight was unusable due to malfunctions in the data sensing equipment, but the temperature, humidity, and altitude data was collected properly and a comparison to the corresponding known properties about the Earth’s atmosphere confirmed its accuracy. The successful establishment of the ballooning program now allows for more student led balloon launches to occur with less preparation and overall less cost per launch. The data sensing equipment can be modified to sample a large variety of different quantities for various projects, and further improvements to the program could also be good research opportunities for science education.
  • Keywords: Western Oregon University, Weather ballooning, Heating circuits, GPS tracking, Camera timing circuit, Oregon Space Grant
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file details Creation_of_Western_Oregon_University_Weather_Ballooning_Program.docx 2017-07-21 Öffentlich Herunterladen