The Eclipse Ballooning Project at Vanderbilt University and the construction of custom equipment

Abstract

The Eclipse Ballooning Project was a National Space Grant initiative to send as many balloon to the stratosphere during the August 2017 Eclipse. A Vanderbilt team was formed to take part in the initiative. With admission to the project, A common payload was distributed to enable video streaming from the balloon, the centerpiece of the project. Additional packages were developed and added to broaden the scope of the project. The experience high altitude ballooning was documented, as well as lessons learned and recommended modifications to the system for future balloonists. Initial analysis of the measurements taken by the environmental logger flown for two flights is presented.