As part of World Space Week, we are proud to announce the 2nd Annual Global Space Balloon Challenge (GSBC), the world’s largest high altitude balloon event! The challenge is simple – coordinate people around the world to design, build, and fly a high altitude balloon anytime between April 10th and April 27th, 2015.
In our inaugural challenge, 57 teams from 18 countries and 6 continents launched and recovered their payloads. Participants ranged from students and teachers, from experienced teams to those launching for the first time, and from college kids to children and their parents. Teams created their own zero pressure balloon, radios, and flight termination units to measure the ozone, magnetic field, humidity, temperature, and more. We encourage you to see some of the most amazing achievements and stories at http://www.balloonchallenge.org/results
This year we are hoping to make the GSBC bigger and better and we need YOUR help. Registration will officially open when our new website launches on November 17th, 2014 and both experienced teams and people who have never launched a HAB before are encouraged to join! We are also looking for community organizers to become official parts of the GSBC organization and help recruit teams from their areas. Please head to our current website to be notified when registration opens or to join the effort as a community organizer or advisor – any and all help and feedback is most welcome!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
Please come join the fun – it is a great community and it is amazing what you can do with a high altitude balloon! They’re cheap and easy to do, but incredibly powerful if you add some cool electronics.
Please come join the fun – it is a great community and it is amazing what you can do with a high altitude balloon! They’re cheap and easy to do, but incredibly powerful if you add some cool electronics.