Getting Something into the Stratosphere

Picture from the stratosphere

Rocket Motor without motor

Temperature in the balloon payload over time

My friend Diane from MIT Rocket Team took a class this semester in which the final project involved sending a high altitude weather balloon up. They asked members of the MIT RT to help support the data acquisition and GPS/radio goals. I had the privilege of helping with the data acquisition system and arranged a set of k-type thermocouples, humidity, and pRTD sensors for Diane and their classmates to use. The first image above shows a shot taken in the stratosphere of the thermocouples I worked with!