Pictures from JP Aerospace's DSS3/Oklahoma flight

Day 7: Sunday, March 24, 2002

by Ian Kluft

Sunday was our alternate launch day in case of bad weather. The official story was that the weather would decide the launch of DSS. But anyone who had heard the forecast knew the answer already. DSS would not be flying this day either. The winds were still too strong.

Only a few dozen people came to watch this time. Around a third of them were press. One politician returned the second day as well - Oklahoma State Senator Gilmer Capps, the author of the state's spaceport legislation. He shook hands with the JPA crew and seemed to be thanking everyone he could find for their efforts. Apparently it wasn't just school kids seeing dreams fulfilled that day.

The previous day's speeches hinted that if the weather looked bad, there would be nothing to come here for. And while that would have been correct if DSS was the only possible launch, we had devised a way to fly the Oklahoma Spaceplanes payload anyway. After this day, we're all heading back home to California.

The Spaceplanes payload container was converted to a launch vehicle the previous day and evening. It had its own flight computer, GPS receiver, radio transmitter, and antenna attached to it now. And a long streamer was added to make sure it would dump over and release the spaceplanes when the balloon burst. Now called "Away 15", it was a flight vehicle, not just a payload. Our electronics crew was proud of their on-site re-engineering of the systems. And rightly so. This configuration had not yet been imagined even when we arrived in Oklahoma. It was all to get the Spaceplanes launched for the Oklahoma school kids. We had met enough of the kids and their teachers to know how much it meant to them.

The balloon was filled and everything was walked outside for launch. It was again very difficult for the crew to hold on to the balloon. But Away 15 was successfully launched and leaped into the sky.

The winds aloft forecasts were for a maximum of up to 130 knots (145mph) winds at around 40,000 feet in altitude. If we had used the original planned amount of Helium, the projected touchdown point would have been in the northern suburbs of Oklahoma City. Even though the streamer would slow it's descent, we didn't want it coming down in a populated area. So the balloon was slightly "overfilled" to make it climb faster through the strongest winds. But that would also cause it to burst earlier, making it less likely to reach 100,000 feet. These are tradeoffs that have to be made sometimes - safety is of primary importance.

The tracking and recovery teams quickly sped off toward I-40. We had 3 vehicles this time. My team was the same as Saturday, with Phoenix and Matt recording and navigating. Natalie again brought Aubrey and Marvin, plus an additional passenger, a reporter from the Oklahoman. (Sorry, we were in a rush to chase the balloon - I didn't write down his name. Natalie credited him as "H Owens" on the JP Aerospace web site. His brother also followed along in his own car since the expected landing area was on the way home for them.) And we had finally made contact with some of the Oklahoma Hams Natalie met by e-mail before the trip - Jerome Doerrie K5IS, Bobette Doerrie N5IS and Mary Van Winkle KC5UNW were in their minivan - they launch and track their own high-altitude balloons in the Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas "tri-state area". We were glad to have them along for their local expertise. And they were interested to see how well APRS beacons work for tracking balloons - they've been using non-data beacons and tracking them with directional antennas.

We didn't know at the time about the decision to overfill the balloon so we actually thought we might be chasing it to Oklahoma City. And with 145mph winds aloft, we would never keep up with it. It's still important to get as close as possible during the descent phase of the flight so we can record any data packets that the launch site is too far away to receive. Every packet on the descent is critical information to project the landing zone in case the transmitter fails on touchdown.

We realized that the chase was turning out better than expected when we caught up with it by Clinton. It was doing around 75-80 mph just north of I-40. In my truck, we remained nearly underneath it from Clinton to Weatherford. Then we did something we've never been able to do on a recovery mission before - we got ahead of it.

We stopped at Exit 115 (the Calumet exit) to wait for the package to come to us. It was over 90,000 feet, nearing what we expected to be balloon burst altitude. While we stopped, the Doerrie's van caught up and joined us. We missed two data packets (probably because the package was tumbling and flailing its antenna around) but their friends in Oklahoma City had received them, and told us the package was falling. The highest altitude any of us received from it was a little over 95,000 feet.

The package was taking a northeast turn again as it descended back into the lower atmosphere. The thicker the air got, the more it slowed its descent. We decided to try two different approaches - they would go north through Calumet and we would go east on I-40 to El Reno before turning north.

We tracked the package to the last packet it transmitted, which reported falling through an altitude of 1320 feet. Then there were no more packets. We were 10 miles away at the touchdown time. Though it was too far away to see it fall, it was the first time we had been close enough to be tempted to look for it.

The touchdown point was several miles east of the town of Okarche. At less than 2 miles from it, we were faced with a stop sign ahead of us, and the Doerrie's van approaching from the left. With only a moment to spare, I made only a California stop to keep ahead of them.

Remember I said from Saturday's hunt that we get competitive to be there first? I got some ribbing for the California stop. (But they seemed a little surprised that we Californians use the same term :-) They admitted they get competitive and fairly often have trackers converging on the landing area too. For me, though I usually do make full stops for stop signs, it was just a rural dirt road intersection and we were definitely into the competitive phase of the hunt. It was a rare exception for me.

As we approached the landing area, we could all see it in the field even before we made the last right turn onto the road adjacent to the field. So in effect it was a tie for finding it first. Recovery time was recorded as 20 minutes after touchdown - our best time ever. Our previous record of 55 minutes was set two weeks earlier on a test flight in preparation for the Oklahoma trip - and the transmitter was still running on the ground for that one.

Some spaceplanes were still in the box. Others were visible around the field. One was sticking like a lawn dart in the side of the dirt road on the way to the field.

It was already nice warm t-shirt weather at the landing site. The weather remained nice the rest of the afternoon.

Natalie's team arrived soon afterward. We documented the site. Then with a plastic crate from my truck, we took a long walk through the field, road and surrounding area picking up any planes we could find. Around 200 followed the box to its landing area. (We returned them to the Spaceport Authority.) Out of 550 launched, we believe that means about 350 escaped the box at high altitude. And with them soared the dreams of many Oklahoma school kids. Mission accomplished!

Some were found as far as 70 miles away that day. Though severe thunderstorms ran across the area that night so we don't know what condition to expect other planes will be in that weren't found quickly. As more are found, they'll hopefully be reported to the okspaceplanes.com web site. Note that updates of the web site are done manually (and by a separate organization not affiliated with JP Aerospace) so we don't know how long it takes for reported planes to get posted on the site. The best advice is to have some patience - this is likely to be an ongoing process.

We returned to the spaceport with the package. DSS had already been disassembled. Everyone was busy packing the trailer. This also always seems to happen when we return to camp after tracking and recovery from launches at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. When we get back, things are packed up and usually some people have already left for home. In this case, we were back faster than any recovery mission we'd ever done in Nevada. And their return trips were set by their airline tickets so there wasn't quite the exodus we usually find. But things were well in progress toward being packed.

This was where the team began to part ways for the trip home. Al had devised a plan that got the rental cars all returned on time and everyone to their flights without needing help from the caravan. It couldn't have been done without Beverly offering to take most of the chauffeuring burden. Those who had early flights out of Oklahoma City had already checked out of the motel in Clinton that morning and headed straight to a hotel near the OKC airport - from there they'd use free airport shuttles from the hotel. The rest of us headed back to the Ramada for our first chance to relax since the trip began. The next day would be a travel day for everyone, whether driving or flying.

In my motel room, I thought I'd catch the Oscars, hoping to see my favorite film, The The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, win best picture. But I fell asleep shortly into it. Maybe it was just as well that I got the sleep since FOTR didn't win. Without having set the alarm, I woke up the next morning about half an hour before I needed to get up. The TV was still on.

(499x500 79K) (500x501 78K)	Away 15 flew an easterly track to an altitude of 95,000', where it released hundreds of paper airplanes made by Oklahoma school kids. (See the payload's web site at okspaceplanes.com.) The box landed east of Okarche OK, north of the previous day's landing site. The package was recovered in a record 20 minutes after touchdown. (Green indicates the flight path. Red indicates paths taken by the tracking and recovery teams.)
(1488x992 592K) (500x333 24K)	Sunday morning, winds scrubbed the DSS launch again. So the plan was put in motion to make the Spaceplanes payload its own vehicle, now dubbed "Away 15". During the balloon fill, there are only a few dozen attendees and media (all behind the camera in this photo) this morning, as opposed to the 2000 who showed up on Saturday. Norm, JP and Phoenix stand ready to take the Spaceplanes container outside while Matt, Ralph and John Sr fill the balloon.
(1488x992 410K) (500x333 13K)	Matt and John Sr carry the balloon outside the hangar, just beginning to get the effects of the outside winds. JP and Phoenix carry the Away 15 package behind it to prepare for launch.
(1488x992 460K) (500x333 13K)	Ralph prepares to take a photo. Matt and John Sr struggle to control the balloon in the gusty winds. JP and Phoenix carry the Away 15 package while Shirley follows carrying the blue streamer.
(1488x992 466K) (500x333 13K)	The crew takes the Away 15 package out for launch. Ralph and Aubrey are now in position to catch the balloon in case the winds try to slam it on the concrete.
(1488x992 499K) (500x333 14K)	The balloon and the package are attached for flight.
(1488x992 507K) (500x333 15K)	The team positions for launch.
(1488x992 470K) (500x333 14K)	The balloon is away. The line is tight. Package release is less than a second away.
(1488x992 390K) (500x333 9K)	Liftoff of Away 15 and the Oklahoma Spaceplanes! The package carries the hopes and dreams of hundreds of Oklahoma students.
(1488x992 399K) (500x333 29K)	Away 15 climbs from the spaceport.
(1488x992 393K) (500x333 31K)	Away 15 climbs from the spaceport.
(1488x992 717K) (500x333 34K)	The recovery teams found the package 20 minutes after touchdown (an all-time record for JPA package recovery) in a wheat field east of Okarche, Oklahoma, north of El Reno.
(1488x992 707K) (500x333 39K)	Some planes remained in the package all the way to the ground. We scoured the field before leaving and picked up a total of almost 200 in the box, field, road and nearby area. One was sticking straight down in the road on the way to the landing zone. These planes were returned to the Spaceport Authority, to be returned to the children who made them. (The kids likely will frame them since even these planes went to the edge of space.) So out of 550 launched, 350 were released in flight.
(1488x992 761K) (500x333 38K)	The package viewed from the end of the streamer.
(1488x992 589K) (500x333 27K)	Aubrey and Marvin document the landing site prior to removal of the package.
(1488x992 683K) (500x333 32K)	A reporter for the Oklahoman came along with Natalie on the recovery mission. I snapped a photo of him while he prepared to take a photo of the recovery team. :-)

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Copyright (c) 2002 Ian Kluft. All opinions on this page are my own. For official info from JP Aerospace please see jpaerospace.com.