Much like the NASA space launches of the past half century, Lehman High School's launch of its Near Space balloon--carrying the camera and scientific instrument-packed Hyperion--took a little longer than anticipated to get off the ground. As at Cape Canaveral, enthusiastic spectators--including many elementary STEM students--waited patiently for everything to be in order, the balloon to be properly inflated, and teacher Ross Russell and his Radio Club team (and other involved students) to have the Hyperion securely tied to the balloon.
When left-off finally came, the balloon soared along with the imaginations of all present about how high and how far the Lobo-created combination would travel. By day's end the chase team of Russell and LHS teacher Elaine Hunt had retrieved the perfectly intact Hyperion, its instruments having recorded an ascent of 98,300 feet, and radio GPS/signal-documented a course that took the balloon as far east as Lexington, Texas, before running into stormy weather.
Stay tuned for more on this project as the Lehman contingent continues working toward a Guinness World Record. (ground photos by Jim Cullen; lift-off aerial photo by Hyperion)
