Pella Exploring Near Space) PENS

Working with local area schools, experiments are designed and built with the goal of launching high altitude weather balloons carrying them and gathering data and information.

These ballons reach an altitude of about 100,000 feet at which time they explode, releasing their "pay load" back to earth via parachute.

APRS gear is carried on the package and the balloon is tracked by amateur radio.  The students assist in the process from launch to recovery and later analyze the data to see if it provided the information expected.

Click on this link for a video of the preparation and launching of PENS balloons.

Smaller Mylar baloons are also launched in coopration with schools and other organzations in the area.   Below is the route taken by one of these micro baloons, launched in connection to a local Girl Scout Troop.  As can be seen, the tracks are quite different on each pass around the world and depend entirely on the winds at about 40,000 feet, the altitude at which they travel.