Wednesday afternoon and still no word from Rian. I sent him a message to check up and see if he was going to contact me or if he had forgotten. I gave him my email address and he promptly mailed me to see if I was available this weekend. I replied asking him if we could set up our first meeting for Sunday, but I got no reply.
In the meantime however, I composed a list of questions for him for when we finally have a chance to meet:
- Where can I buy/get a weather balloon from and how much will it cost?
- Where can I launch from?
- Can I launch from anywhere?
- Do you know of any ways to retrieve the balloon, or track it?
- What is the estimated bursting altitude with approximately a one kilogram payload?
- How is the payload attached to the balloon?
- Is there any way to stabilize it so that it doesn’t turn or spin?
- Do you know of any way that I could control the decent of the balloon: i.e. let out gas at a certain altitude so that I could re-use the balloon again?
- Would you be able to help me with the launches and preparations for the balloon?
- Do you know of anyone else who I would be able to contact in case you are unable to help?
These are more conversation starters, which will help me get a better understanding of how to use a balloon, how to track it, and also get to know Rian.
I will email him again tomorrow and try set up a meeting for this Sunday.
