The Great LARG Balloon Launch Of 1999

LARG Balloon Launch Saturday, April 24, 1999          The Loudoun Amateur Radio Group of Northern Virginia launched a small 11-ounce Ham Radio Beacon from Rocky Gap State Park near Clumberland, MD. The payload rose to about 100,000 feet where the balloon burst and the payload drifted back to earth. The members of the Radio Group tracked the Beacon for almost 4 hours until it returned to the ground near Gaithersburg, MD. Recovery teams were unable to locate the small package because the beacon signal was lost.

This is the story of the launch.  Our Launch Team was composed of Mary - KF4UUY, Bob - KF4VBM, Ray - K4AJA, Paulson McIntyre and Norm - AI2C. We had developed a Launch SOP and hoped it would guide us, since none of us had actually launch a balloon of this size. As you see below everything went great with the launch. And a good time was had by all.

Recovery Chute Being Tied Off To the Payload	The Balloon Being Opened For Inflating

Just The Right Lift

Holding For Mission Control

Up, Up and Away !!!

At 6000 Feet And Climbing

This Page By Paulson McIntyre of the   LARG WEB Masters Committee  Back To   K4LRG's Main Page