Gannon University Student Project Successfully Launches into the Upper Atmosphere
Posted: May 9, 2014
A photograph of the GURPSI balloon at the moment of burst 95,000 feet above the Allegheny National Forest.
Students in Gannon University's department of computer science and engineering successfully launched their senior design project
95,000 ft. into the atmosphere to record its flight and gather data
for their analysis and capstone presentation.
The mild wind conditions and clear skies aided the launch in
going as planned, explained Kramer. The "payload" (Raspberry Pi
computer, GPS, camera, etc.) landed on its projected flight path
traveling about 122 kilometers (76 miles) Gout Road in Meadville to
the Alleghany National Forest. The travel distance fell just short
of the students' projected distance due to the balloon bursting
slightly lower in the atmosphere than predicted. The balloon burst
at 95,000 ft., as opposed to their projected 100,000 ft.
Footage of the launch and travel into the atmosphere, as well as
the balloon burst, can be seen on the students' project website at
The recovery of the payload did not come without hardship,
however, and the students had to work with Alleghany Park Rangers
to obtain trail maps to navigate the forest and retrieve their
project, which landed off-path and in a tree.
"I give props to my team, " said Kramer. "They were dedicated
throughout it all; I was happy with how well they worked together.
Dealing with the unknown is what is most important in a real
engineering project and I'm very glad we were able to learn