Balloon Launch a BUST for 10.10.10 - Switching to the backup plan

[Grant Willis]

Well, we have had an eventful afternoon. Saturday's launch on 10.9.10 which was predicted to be the safe launch did something very unexpected, with the burst of the balloon being delayed due to various factors. This lead to the payload travelling an additional 50-60km furtther than expected. The end result was that the payload landed in the ocean about 100m off shore. While we recovered it, the electronics were damaged, and so that payload will now not be available for 10.10.10.

We did also evaluate a launch using a backup system for tomorrow morning, however the preparation time for that launch, and the risks we still faced with the water landing due to shifting weather patterns again meant that we have reluctantly decided to abandon the attempt, mostly considering safety of the team and also the (not inexpensive) hardware.

We are really disappointed that this hasnt worked. It was always ambitious, and is unfortunate that it has failed due to numerous factors, including poor weather conditions, damaged payloads, and exhausted crews from the problematic flight today.

I am now going back to plan B - and do intend to film something still tomorrow, but on a very different topic.

Regards,
Grant