Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1601
ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov
Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
757-824-1579
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 11-365
NASA SEEKING STUDENT EXPERIMENTS FOR BALLOON FLIGHT
WASHINGTON -- NASA is accepting applications from graduate and
undergraduate university students to fly experiments to the edge of
space on a scientific balloon. This balloon flight competition is a
joint project between NASA and the Louisiana Space Consortium
(LaSPACE) in Baton Rouge.
NASA is targeting fall 2012 for the next flight opportunity for the
LaSPACE maintained High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) facility.
HASP is a balloon-borne instrument stack that provides an annual
near-space flight opportunity for 12 undergraduate and graduate
student-built instruments.
A panel of experts from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops
Island, Va., and LaSPACE will review the applications and select the
finalists for the next flight opportunity. Launched from the Columbia
Scientific Balloon Facility's remote site in Fort Sumner, N.M.,
flights typically achieve 15 to 20 hours duration at an altitude of
approximately 23 miles.
HASP houses and provides power, mechanical support, interfacing and
communications for the instruments. It can be used to flight-test
compact satellites, prototypes and other small payloads designed and
built by students.
HASP can support approximately 200 pounds of payloads and test
articles. Since 2006, the HASP program selected more than 50 payloads
for flights involving more than 200 students from across the United
States.
The deadline for applications for the 2012 flight is Dec. 16. A
question-and-answer teleconference for interested parties is
scheduled on Nov. 11.
For application materials, teleconference schedule and additional HASP
details, visit:
http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp For information about NASA's scientific balloon program, visit:
http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code820/ For information about NASA's education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
