Having said this, the team – situated in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences – recently joined forces with Binary Space, a technology, science and electronic art interest group in Vanderbijlpark in an effort to expose more young people to the exciting world of science and technology.
On 4 August the team from Binary Space together with several volunteers, including university students, launched a high altitude balloon from the campus grounds in Vanderbijlpark. According to Tom van den Bon, a representative from Binary Space, the purpose of the launch was to gather data and he explains that a multitude of sensors were connected to the balloon’s Lora black box.
More about the balloon
The balloon consists of three parts, namely: the main balloon, a parachute and a payload. The latter refers to the computing technology such as cameras and tracking devices and weigh between 600 g and 950 g.
The amount of helium inside the balloon is calculated according to the weight of the attachments as well as the altitude the team were aiming to achieve.
A SSTV camera and a GoPro were connected to the balloon to enable the Binary Space team to record as many images of the balloon and the surroundings as possible. Several amateur radio enthusiasts also joined the team in tracking and recovering the black box. Information like the GPS coordinates, altitude achieved, internal and external temperatures and more was sent out via radio signal.
This is the fourth balloon launch undertaken by Binary space with previous launches taking part on 9 June, 15 April and 17 March.
According to Malie Zeeman, a lecturer in the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, this collaboration came to being in April of this year. “We are really happy to have Binary Space as a collaborator and supporter,” says Malie and adds that the agreement already saw a successful workshop on electronics hosted on the campus. The team from Binary Space also assists students in preparing for competitions. “Within three months Binary Space has committed themselves to our shared dream of empowering students in terms of innovation in technology,” says Malie and furthermore adds that it is relationships like these that not only benefit society at large, but also adds value to the NWU’s academic endeavours.
* This was the first high altitude balloon launch ever on the campus.
The high altitude balloon before the launch. (Photo: Binary Space)
The balloon taking to the skies after a windy but successful launch. (Photo: Binary Space)
An image of the balloon tearing from the side. (Photo: Binary Space)
