Education: Students Launch Sensor into Space
September 1, 2008 By: Tracy Cozzens GPS World
Who says space exploration is only for nations or corporations? This summer, students from Oklahoma State University’s Radiation Physics Laboratory built and launched a cosmic radiation detector with GPS, which touched the edge of outer space.
Carried by a helium-filled balloon 12 feet in diameter, the detector flew for more than two hours and reached 104,000 feet. The device recorded radiation levels at the varying altitudes — information that will be used by NASA to develop instrumentation for space flight.
“This is really amazing,” said Carl Johnson, a physics graduate student who designed and constructed the device. “Our detector actually flew to the edge of outer space and then back to ground, and the whole time it worked perfectly.”
The balloon also carried a high-resolution camera, sensors for temperature, pressure and humidity, and a GPS module to determine altitude and geographic position. The balloon and instrumentation launched from the Stillwater campus and landed about 10 miles away in Perry. The project was funded through a NASA EPSCoR grant. The grant is intended to develop instrumentation for use in space flight while promoting student interest in science and engineering.
“The best part about the project is that the detector was built from everyday materials and launched into near space from right here in our own backyard,” said Eric Benton, OSU physics department. “This proves you can accomplish really amazing things with simple materials.”
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