Great Plains
Super Launch
The premier High Altitude Ballooning Experience
Coming Summer 2021!!
Dates to be decided soon...
About the Event
Great Plains Super Launch is the premier high altitude ballooning event in North America. Started in 2001 by Paul Verhage, this annual event will be celebrating its 20ths 19th year. Hosted in various locations around the midwest, GPSL attracts the brightest and most innovative amateur balloonists from the US and abroad.
2020 Symposium Venue
The details for the 2021 Great Plains Super Launch are still being finalized. Please check back in a few weeks for updates..
Dates
Dates are To Be Determined...
Event Registration
GPSL attendees are required to pre-register.
Event registration is closed for 2020. Check back soon for information about the 2021 event!!!
GPSL Groups.io Reflector
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High Altitude Balloon launch on Saturday, May 8, weather permitting
Great Plains Super Launch May 7, 2021 | 04:39 amHi Gang, The Amateur Radio Club at Cornell, W2CXM, in collaboration with the Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS), part of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University will be hosting a High Altitude Balloon launch event[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 14:12 pmI would also like to chime in and say a small battery powered fan would likely increase the distribution of the cold air, even in a cooler there will be a difference in temperature from the top to the bottom[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 14:09 pmYes, I've seen similar with cameras that run hot inside the payload box. They have nowhere to dissipate the heat at altitude. The team does have access to nitrogen chilled vacuum chamber as well. Unfortunately, it's pretty small so it's[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 13:35 pmSomething to remember, While this test using Dry Ice is better than no test at all. It is also very different set of conditions than what is happening at flight levels. Due to how heat is escaping the heat generating[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 13:06 pmHi Michael Another trick you can use is to pre-chill the outer cooler, and ideally run the entire experiment, inside a standard chest freezer. On its coldest setting, that would get the external temperature you down to around -20c making[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 08:03 amMike,Dennis and I are suggesting better contact of the dry ice with the payload than might have been accomplished. (We don't know because you have not supplied that information)As to the amount of dry ice, I have done a quick[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 06:27 amAs a research chemist, I used dry ice a lot to cool reactions to low temperatures, -78°C.I would suggest you set your payload in your cooler and then pour dry ice powder over it.Dry ice comes in a block a[…]
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Re: Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 05:35 amHow big is that payload box if it's a snug fit inside the large cooler? How was the CO2 distributed? All just at the bottom of the cooler (not too good), or some against all four vertical surfaces of the[…]
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Dry Ice payload testing
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 03:57 amHey Gang,Does anyone have much experience in cold-testing payloads with dry ice? A few students on our team tried to use dry ice for a test, and didn't have much luck. The objective is to try and test the payload[…]
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Re: This is how real men launch their balloons...
Great Plains Super Launch May 3, 2021 | 02:55 amOn 5/2/2021 10:04 AM, Steve G8KHW / AJ4XE wrote:What do you US guys call that style of launch - I've heard "hail mary" in the past - is that it? Not sure why?I guess that's a running hail mary? Steve[…]
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