[BLT] NTBP #11 - This Weekend!!

[MacAllister, Andrew [EPM/HOU]]

"The Spirit of Columbia" 

NTBP #11 
The North Texas Balloon Project flight #11 is planned for launch about 
8:30 am on March 13, 2004 from the municipal airport in Hillsboro, 
Texas, just south of Fort Worth and Dallas. This mission is dedicated to 
the memory of the astronauts lost a year ago in the Shuttle Columbia 
tragedy. 

The weather balloon carrying amateur radio experiments is expected to 
reach nearly 100,000 feet in about 90 minutes and return via parachute 
in about 30 minutes. Mobile recovery teams will use position reports 
from the onboard APRS on 144.390 MHz and RDF (fox hunting) to recover 
the payloads. 

Set up will begin at 7:00 am with the HF Launch Net on 7260 +/- 10 kHz 
LSB starting at 8:00 am. The cross band repeater uses an uplink at 
445.800 MHz and downlink at 147.560 MHz. Video from onboard cameras is 
transmitted at 1255.000 MHz for reception by anyone with FM ATV capability. 

The public is invited to come out to the Hillsboro Municipal Airport, 
located at Exit 3 on Interstate Highway 35W, to watch the launch, flight 
status, and downlink video. In the event of unfavorable weather or jet 
stream conditions, the launch will occur at a later date. For the latest 
information check NTBP's Website. 
http://www.qsl.net/w5sjz/NTXBalloonproj.htm 

Handheld VHF radios and scanners can receive the downlink easily. At the 
peak altitude ham radio operators from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, 
Louisiana, and Kansas can contact each other using the cross band repeater. 

The radios used normally have a range of about 25 miles, but that range 
will be extended to about 500 miles at the peak altitude. Two video 
cameras are used to alternately show the balloon and the horizon. At the 
peak altitude, the curvature of the earth is visible. 

NTBP's Doug Howard said, "This is being done mostly for fun. It involves 
many different facets of amateur radio and thus a project that many 
types of amateur radio operators can enjoy together. There is also an 
educational component utilized by scouting groups, because it involves 
orienteering and can be counted toward several different merit badges, 
as well as by teachers for science experiments." According to Howard, 
Boy Scout troops from Fort Worth and Benbrook will participate. 

NTBP is a group of amateur (HAM) radio operators from Fort Worth and 
Dallas and has launched balloons from Cleburn, Clifton, and Hillsboro 
airports since 1991. This is the second launch during the last year and 
is funded by the amateur radio operators associated with the NTBP. 

Please send an email to kd5day@ev1.net for further information 



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