A Near-space Research Experience for High School Students

John E. Post

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Pre-college: Summer Experiences for Students and Teachers (2)
Tagged Division: Pre-College Engineering Education Division
Page Count: 10
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--27489
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/27489
Download Count: 533

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Paper Authors

biography

John E. Post P.E. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott

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John. E. Post was born in Midland, Texas in 1958. He received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1981, the M.S. degree in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2005.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army in December, 1981 and served on active duty until his retirement as a lieutenant colonel in June, 2006. His military service included two tours as an Instructor and later Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. His final military assignment was as Chief of Engineering with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Test Division at Kirtland AFB, NM. After retiring from the military, he joined the Computer, Electrical, and Software Engineering Department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, AZ, where he is an Associate Professor and currently serving as Chair. His research interests include design and optimization of planar microwave circuits and devices, optimizing the design of low-noise microwave amplifiers, and engineering education.
Dr. Post is a member of Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi. He is currently serving as the faculty advisor for the Embry-Riddle IEEE Student Chapter. He is also a Registered Professional Engineer of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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Abstract

A near space research experience for high school students was created at XXX XXX in XX, XX in 2011, and held each summer since then to motivate high school students to pursue careers in science and engineering. During the week-long experience students are exposed to fundamental concepts involved in researching the near-space environment through the launch, flight, and recovery of a high-altitude balloon carrying student-built balloonsat payloads. During the first day of the experience students are introduced to balloon flight procedures and watch a video recording of a previous flight. Next, students learn about the microprocessor-based sensor system they build to record data taken during the ascent and descent of a balloonsat payload during a high-altitude flight. The sensor data recorded during the flight includes the voltage of the battery supply, internal and external temperatures, and the ambient atmospheric pressure. During the next class students are introduced to the software package Matlab. With the instructor’s assistance they write a Matlab script file capable of analyzing and plotting the hundreds of measurements taken during the flight. Finally, the students are introduced to circuit construction techniques and soldering. The students develop and practice these skills constructing a commercially available soldering practice kit. The first day ends with the students dividing up into teams of four students with skills sufficient to construct their sensor system payloads and the balloonsats that will carry them.

During the morning of the second day each team begins construction of their balloonsat and payload. The microprocessor-based sensor system and its associated analog signal processing circuitry is assembled on a custom printed circuit board designed and manufactured for the sensor system. It is important to verify circuit operation periodically during construction because most of the students lack significant experience in electronic circuit construction. The balloonsats are constructed from 3/8 inch thick foam-core board from which a cross-shaped pattern is cut. The pattern is then folded up to form a cube approximately 6 inches on each side and the interior filled with pieces of ½ thick foam containing voids to fit the payload. The second day concludes with thermal and vaccum tests necessary to simulate the extreme conditions encountered by the balloonsats in the near-space environment, as well as verify the functionality of the sensor system.

The morning of the third day the students activate their payloads, assist with inflating the balloon with hydrogen, and then launch the balloon with its payloads during the designated launch window. The balloon train includes one or more APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) beacons whose data packets are received by digital repeaters (digipeaters) and then transferred to Internet gateway stations (iGates) so that students are able to monitor the progress of the balloon flight in real-time on their smart phones. Once the balloon has burst and the payloads return to earth by parachute, students are transported to the landing location to recover their payloads and their data.

During the last day of the camp each team each spends the morning analyzing their data and then prepares and delivers a final presentation of their results to the entire group in the afternoon. Students also completed an evaluation of the week’s experience and the curriculum using a Likert-type scale with five possible responses ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. In responding to the most recent evaluation 14 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “The activities conducted during the week met or exceeded my expectations for the camp.” Additionally, 10 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “I am more interested in studying XXX engineering as a result of this camp than I was before.” Finally, 13 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “I would recommend this camp for others to attend.” This paper provides details of the topics, schedule, enrollments, and student evaluations of the Near-space Research Experience conducted at XXX XXX in XX, XX since summer 2011.

Citation
Format

Post, J. E. (2017, June), A Near-space Research Experience for High School Students Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27489

TY - CPAPER
AB - A near space research experience for high school students was created at XXX XXX in XX, XX in 2011, and held each summer since then to motivate high school students to pursue careers in science and engineering. During the week-long experience students are exposed to fundamental concepts involved in researching the near-space environment through the launch, flight, and recovery of a high-altitude balloon carrying student-built balloonsat payloads.
During the first day of the experience students are introduced to balloon flight procedures and watch a video recording of a previous flight. Next, students learn about the microprocessor-based sensor system they build to record data taken during the ascent and descent of a balloonsat payload during a high-altitude flight. The sensor data recorded during the flight includes the voltage of the battery supply, internal and external temperatures, and the ambient atmospheric pressure. During the next class students are introduced to the software package Matlab. With the instructor’s assistance they write a Matlab script file capable of analyzing and plotting the hundreds of measurements taken during the flight. Finally, the students are introduced to circuit construction techniques and soldering. The students develop and practice these skills constructing a commercially available soldering practice kit. The first day ends with the students dividing up into teams of four students with skills sufficient to construct their sensor system payloads and the balloonsats that will carry them.

During the morning of the second day each team begins construction of their balloonsat and payload. The microprocessor-based sensor system and its associated analog signal processing circuitry is assembled on a custom printed circuit board designed and manufactured for the sensor system. It is important to verify circuit operation periodically during construction because most of the students lack significant experience in electronic circuit construction. The balloonsats are constructed from 3/8 inch thick foam-core board from which a cross-shaped pattern is cut. The pattern is then folded up to form a cube approximately 6 inches on each side and the interior filled with pieces of ½ thick foam containing voids to fit the payload. The second day concludes with thermal and vaccum tests necessary to simulate the extreme conditions encountered by the balloonsats in the near-space environment, as well as verify the functionality of the sensor system.

The morning of the third day the students activate their payloads, assist with inflating the balloon with hydrogen, and then launch the balloon with its payloads during the designated launch window. The balloon train includes one or more APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System) beacons whose data packets are received by digital repeaters (digipeaters) and then transferred to Internet gateway stations (iGates) so that students are able to monitor the progress of the balloon flight in real-time on their smart phones. Once the balloon has burst and the payloads return to earth by parachute, students are transported to the landing location to recover their payloads and their data.

During the last day of the camp each team each spends the morning analyzing their data and then prepares and delivers a final presentation of their results to the entire group in the afternoon. Students also completed an evaluation of the week’s experience and the curriculum using a Likert-type scale with five possible responses ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. In responding to the most recent evaluation 14 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “The activities conducted during the week met or exceeded my expectations for the camp.” Additionally, 10 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “I am more interested in studying XXX engineering as a result of this camp than I was before.” Finally, 13 out of 15 students either Agreed or Strongly Agreed with the statement “I would recommend this camp for others to attend.” This paper provides details of the topics, schedule, enrollments, and student evaluations of the Near-space Research Experience conducted at XXX XXX in XX, XX since summer 2011.

AU - John E. Post P.E.
CY - Columbus, Ohio
DA - 2017/06/24
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - A Near-space Research Experience for High School Students
UR - https://peer.asee.org/27489
DO - 10.18260/1-2--27489
ER -