This update will be a brief one; we are in launch-ready status and hope to launch about 12 hours from now. The approximate time of launch will be 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. Both project backers and the public will be able to hear about important launch events (such as the bursting of the balloon and touchdown) and location updates through Twitter, Facebook, and our website. Payload location updates will be available at a rate of over once per minute just a few short minutes after launch; these updates are available through our Live Tracking page, which makes use of a free amateur radio service called APRS.

Assuming the launch goes as planned, we will also be releasing high-definition videos and photographs from the onboard cameras after the payload is retrieved. 

Wish us well, and stay tuned.

We’re thrilled to announce that our much-anticipated launch of the HEARTSAT project is coming closer. Though the flight frame, electronics, and telemetry systems were completed many weeks ago per our Kickstarter schedule, our battle to finally launch the project has occurred in a typical aerospace industry fashion. We’re starting to overcome some of those unforeseen circumstances thanks to the generous support of the University of New Hampshire’s Space Science Center.

If you’ve been following the project since day one, you’ll likely recall that the original idea behind the unique HEARTSAT vehicle was inspired by research that took place at the University’s Project SMART program this past summer. With the expertise and experience University of New Hampshire officially becoming a part of the final stage of the project, we can count on a launch date occurring as soon as the project has been reviewed by the personnel assisting us, and as the local weather and high altitude wind patterns permit.

Please stay tuned for further launch-related updates. As always, frequent updates about the progress of HEARTSAT are available on both Facebook and Twitter. Live slow-scan television and telemetry updates will also be made available through the project website on launch day.

Here’s the first official photo update, only one of many to come! The flight vehicle construction has completed and flight computer design and construction is beginning later in the day. Kickstarter backer integration (Tweets, photographs, logos, etc.) will occur in about a week. Stay tuned!

When this project first launched on Kickstarter, I had discussed that additional exciting opportunities would become available in the event we exceeded our initial goal of $1,900.  As of yesterday, those opportunities will now be taken advantage of. The first stretch funding goal - including an open source spectrometer - has already been met.

I am excited to have a relatively large number of backers for an independent project like HEARTSAT. Now I want you, the backers, to decide what HEARTSAT will accomplish in addition to our first stretch goal. The unique shape and characteristics of the flight frame allow for scalability, both laterally, and by stacking equipment and instruments.

Possible stretch funding goal #2 opportunities

Controlled descent - I'll engineer an electronically-steerable control surface that will attempt to stabilize the ascent and descent. It will be a large challenge, but would likely be the first time anything like it has been done before.

Slow-scan television broadcast (SSTV) - Using the amateur radio bands, I will integrate a low-resolution camera and broadcast a television station from the balloon while it's ascending to altitude! Not a typical TV broadcast, an SSTV broadcast would send back a still frame every few minutes to our chase vehicle. Upon receiving each image, it would be uploaded instantly for followers on Kickstarter, Facebook, and Twitter to see as the mission unfolds. Are you a HAM operator in the New England area? We'll give you the frequencies and decoding instructions so you can see it first-hand. (Here's a great example of an SSTV broadcast from the International Space Station.)

It's up to you!

The two ideas above are great candidates to utilize additional space on the HEARTSAT flight frame. Which one are you in favor of? Is there something completely different that you want to see happen? Leave a comment on this post or send a message. I'm eager to hear your thoughts.