We're sending 1000 student projects to the edge of space. Each one inside a ping pong ball.
On September 22 we are going to send 1000 student projects to the edge of space.
These experiments and projects are made by kindergartners, university professors, high school science classes and home schools kids.
All the projects fit inside ping pong balls. We call them PongSats. Students from all over the world send us their PongSats we fly them to 100,000 feet on weather balloons. After the landing the PongSats are returned to their creators along with data from the flight a DVD with video of the launch and on board scenes and a certificate showing they flew.
I'm always completely floored by the project folks put in their PongSats. Projects have ranged from plant seeds to full upper atmospheric labs all in a ping pong ball.
My favorite is the marshmallow. You put a marshmallow inside the ping pong ball. At 100,000 feet the marshmallow puffs up completely filling the ball. Then it freeze dries. The student gets to hold in her hand the direct results of traveling the top of the atmosphere.
PongSats are flown at no cost to the participant. 530 student and other PongSat builders are signed up so far for this September. We are expecting just over a thousand.
We will launch the PongSats from the Black Rock desert in Nevada. The vehicles that carry them are called High Rack. They are made of foam and carbon fiber. We have four separate telemetry links to the High Rack tracking it during the flight. At the end of the flight we release the balloon and the High Rack descends by parachute.
It will take four High Racks, each with its own balloon to carry the thousand ping pong balls.
We land anywhere from 20 to 200 miles away from the launch site. After landing the recover teams with 4wd's head out across the Sierra Nevada mountains to bring the high racks back.
Help us inspire, motivate and enable the next 1000 explorers and share in the amazement of what is achieved.
JP Aerospace is an all volunteer DIY space program. We have flown 6440 PongSats so far. With your help we are going to fly a thousand more this September.
More info about JP Aerospace and PongSats at:
Almost 1,400 PongSats will be on board!!!!
We are building another vehicle to fly on the September mission to carry the overflow of PongSats. Please help us push the funding a little higher to help cover the costs. Thank you!!!
We can't take any more on this mission. We are signing up PongSats for a mission we're flying in April.
FAQ
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Absolute, we want as many people as possible to go up into the black!
The first step it to email me. That's all it takes to sign up. I will send you in ID number to write on your PongSat. If you are a group of class let me know how many you need.I recommend looking at the PongSat users guide. It's on our website http://www.jpaerospace.com
It has helpful things like "how to cut a ping pong ball in half".
You create your PongSat then mail it to us. Address will be in the email. The rules are pretty simple, no live animals, no explosives (ie firecrackers) and no heavier than three ounces. It's actually very hard to get three ounces into a PongSat. You need to mail your PongSat so it arrives to us in California at least five days before the mission. Also include a note about what's in your PongSat. We love finding out what amazing things are done.
That's it! Be creative, explore, try things!
jpowell@jpaerospace.com
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Just mail it. Drop your full size card ($75 reward) or your business size card ($10 reward) in an envelope and mail it to:
JP Aerospace
2530 Mercantile Dr, Suite I
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
USA
Your card needs to arrive by September 17th to make sure it gets on board. We mail it back to you after the flight.
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There are several thousand of these balloons flown everyday. Most people don't realize that we still get most of our weather information from balloons. They are launched by the national weather service. This has been done everyday for the past 70 years and there has never been and encounter with an airplane. It's a big sky out there.
On top of that we fully coordinate our balloon flights (135 flights so far) with the FAA and air traffic control.
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- Website: jpaerospace.com
Pledge $10 or more
148 backers
Sent at note to the edge! We will fly a business card size note from you on the mission to 100,000 feet. It can be a special note, art, a mini Birthday card for that space nut you know.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $25 or more
93 backers
20 Minute documentary from the mission including in flight video on DVD
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $50 or more
59 backers
You Name on a sign photographed at 100,000 feet, (with group). Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $75 or more
15 backers
Send a full size greeting card to the edge. You send us your card, (convention size 'Hallmark' style card). We fly it on the mission and mail it back to you.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $100 or more
13 backers
A signed copy of John Powell's book "Floating to Space, the Airship to Orbit Program". Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $250 or more
2 backers
JP Aerospace Tee Shirt signed by the entire flight team. Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $500 or more
0 backers
We will fly a set of 200 of your business cards on the mission to the edge of space. Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $1,000 or more
0 backers
Your Name on a sign photographed at 100,000 feet in large font with only 3 other names. Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012Pledge $1,200 or more
1 backer Limited (1 of 2 left)
You get an actual vehicle stabilizer fin that flew on the mission. 33X12 inches. Nylon over a carbon frame. Great wall hanging that's been there!
Estimated delivery: Oct 2013Pledge $3,500 or more
0 backers
Dedicated sign. Your name, message or logo on a sign photographed at 100,000. Plus mission DVD.
Estimated delivery: Oct 2012
