Arizona Space Grant Consortium Participation and Contribution during the 2017 Solar Eclipse

Students from the Arizona Space Grant Consortium attended the Montana State University (MSU) Solar Eclipse Workshop in July 2016, where the MSU-designed ground station and payloads were assembled. The team returned with the systems, making modifications and conducting tests leading up to the eclipse in the following areas: ground station tracking, payload improvements, and expanded video capability. With the initial aid of Louisiana State University, the team upgraded the tracking system to use both Automated Packet Reporting System (APRS) beacons and MSU’s Iridium tracking system. This update improved the accuracy of determining the location of the balloon and payloads. The hardware improvements for the ground station included the addition of mobile HughesNet satellite internet service. Payload improvements included using medium-gain antennas, next generation Ubiquiti modems, and Raspberry Pi 3 computers. In addition, a 360 degree video camera payload was developed. The systems were tested over six balloon flights. During the solar eclipse, the team was in Glendo, WY, and flew the following payloads: Digital Video Payload (DVP), Digital Image Payload (DIP), 360 Video Payload, ASU Scientific Payload, flight termination payloads, and tracking payloads. Each of these payloads operated correctly with the exception of DVP, which malfunctioned during an impact at launch. The team was unable to live stream video, but instead streamed a slideshow of downlinked images. However, videos from both the DVP and 360 Video Payload were recovered after the flight and later processed. Overall the mission was successful, and high quality video, images, and data were collected