The picture on the left is a 3000 gram latex balloon laid out prior to being filled with helium on a launch day. Notice the use of the tarp and cotton gloves on the students. Care needs to be taken to not weaken the latex, this includes vegetation at the launch site which could puncture the balloon or oils from human skin which can also weaken the latex. We have purchased these balloons from Kaymont, Inc. The size of the balloon used is relative to the maximum elevation desired. Once we have our balloon size we use a computer software program, balltrak, to estimate the amount of helium need to achieve our desired maximum elevation. The picture next to the balloon is our fill nozzle for the helium.

The picture on the right is from tests we administered on the parachute. From these tests we calculated the descent rate of the payload and designed the best payload to parachute attachment system. We purchased our parachute from Rocketman Inc. The diameter of the parachute is 9 feet.