Posted on March 25, 2024 by Storm Goodman
Jacob Loberg of The Brass Balloon
The Brass Balloon is a “top-secret” project, composed of Makerspace enthusiasts looking to send Dave’s hammer, an icon of the Makerspace, to the lower levels of the atmosphere. Jacob Loberg, lab assistant and all-around Makerspace enthusiast, is leading this project and hopes to launch the balloon on April 8th, the day of the total solar eclipse.
The team will be designing and constructing a package capable of carrying the hammer as well as being able to contain the GPS equipment required to retrieve the package once the balloon is popped. The team also plans on attaching a recording device so that the entire ascent can be filmed, documented, and displayed. To support their package, the team will be employing a helium weather balloon capable of ascending around 80 to 100 thousand feet before popping. Once the project has been completed, the team plans on recovering the package and footage and displaying it so that all future engineers and visitors can see all of the amazing stuff happening in the Makerspace.
"We’ll make the sky the limit. Quite literally."
Looking ahead, the next step for the Brass Balloon team is to determine the materials they will use to construct their package that complies with FAA regulations and still is capable of accomplishing all of their goals. This is a developing project that we will be covering until the package is launched, so be sure to check in regularly to the Makerspace Monday page for updates.
— Storm Goodman
This story is a part of the Makerspace Mondays series.
