On August 16, 1960, Joseph Kittinger jumped from a balloon at 31,300 m. He fell for four minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 988 km/h before opening his parachute at 5,500 m. He set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere.
I have updated the prior design and this is how it should work:
The principle is the same as for model rocket parachute ejection.
The FlyCamOne eco V2 camera was very disappointing. 170 mA at standby and interference-prone. I'll replace it by something like this.
Below you see a dismantled C6 rocket engine. The small part on the left is the ejection charge.
2010.10.13
Designed the controller perf board with LochMaster to keep in compact:
2010.10.16
Sky diving man under construction...I added a wing to increase the CV value. I have also attached a short test video of the parachute ejection system.
2010.11.06
Updated the design completely again and gave the skydiver a more manlike look. The body is made from a appIe juice bottle, two ping pong balls, some plywood, epoxy resin putty and other scrap. I waived the parachute ejection by black powder. This was anyway not the best idea in combination with a hydrogen filled balloon (see Zeppelin Hindenburg...). The skydiver will now be lifted on its opened parachute via weather balloon and released on an altitude of around 1km. The robot is still equipped with a tracking device and a small camera with micro SD card. I found an interesting 9V battery with 1250mAh (Lithium-Manganese Dioxide) which will power the tracking device around 5 hours. The data sheet of this battery can be find attached.
Pictures below show the release platform of the skydiver. On the top side is the power supply and a programmable timer (via push buttons), on the bottom side the release mechanism. Times between 1-3 minutes can be adjusted. The ascent rate of the weather balloon will be approx. 320m/min. The release platform will be lost in near space...
2010.12.02
Finally the nylon parachute for Joe arrived. The parachute has a diameter of 24". My wife stitched a cord loop on the top of the chute. The picture below shows the complete setup for launch on the weather balloon. I have also attached the circuit diagrams for tracking transmitter and release mechanism control unit.
he looks about 10" tall? is measuring the cosmic radiation you main quest? what kinds of tempatures will your little guy experience, compared to Mr. Kittingers trip?
1/10 the height - 3100m, about 10,000 feet. what kind of balloon will be involved? will you need clearance from local governments to not interefere with airplanes?
you checked parachute specifications for the expected weight and speed at time of deployment?
at least you wont need oxegen tanks as I’m sure Mr. Kittinger did. although we’ll all be holding our breath for his safe return.
He is 45 cm tall. Measuring the cosmic radiation and capture video is the main quest.
It will be a 2 m diamater hydrogen weather balloon. I don’t need clearance from the local government. It will be launched from the weather balloon launch station in Nanjing, China. This station belongs to the government and I can luckely launch there a balloon any time.
oh, your deploying parachute as soon as you separate from balloon?
I’m worried about air currents at 3100m and skydiver drifting out of range of your walkie-talkie. will you be able to see parachute descent from ground?
how about a dry-run with a 32 ounce weight dropped from a teathered balloon or kite at 100m to analyze drift.
Yeah, I will make first tests from lower altitudes. Parachute will be deployed very soon after seperation from balloon. I’ll post some pictures later how I think it could work
I’m really impressed with all the software your using for the 3d rendering, schematics, circuit board front and back. is that 1 program or 3 different programs? I’m guessing you are happy with all of it and you would recommend all of it since you are using it.
Good Idea putting the parachute in a tube, I usually just had it at the end of the rocket engine with a small black powder charge to release it, needless to say it never worked…
That platform does not look like the usual high level of design quality that usually comes from you. But I am only judging two photos here. Please take my criticism with a grain of salt.
- The recent viral video (of father and son launching a near space camera balloon) showed violent rocking and bobbing of the capsule under the balloon. My fear is that at least one of those single knots is going to fail before it reaches release altitude. - The linkage between servo and release pin boggles my mind. The angles look like they make a release under tension almost impossible. Am I missing an extra spring around the metal pin? Or perhaps I am overestimating the weight of Joe.
The conctruction isn’t as fragile as it may look. The picture shows the total opening position. I tested it with 2 kg, it still opens easily. But the skydiver itself only weighs 240 g + 50 g for the chute:) The straight lift of a weather balloon makes it unnecessary to pack the parachute and use an opening mechanism. The skydiver can be directly lifted up on its opened parachute and then be released at the desired altitude (1 km in my case).The upper end of the parachute features a sewed on loop. The loop will be hooked on the pin of the release platform, which is connected to the weather balloon via four cords. The weight is hanging between the two linkages. The pin, made from 3 mm diamater hardened steel, is additional supported by two aluminum tubes 3mm x 6 mm.
So the servo turns clockwise, pushes the white link upwards (as seen in the photo), pulling the rod out of the bushes. I get it. You tested it. That’s even more important. Feeling confident again.
Hydrogen, Black Power, Ignition Yeah! .... Ok, your avatar is really starting to make sense. Oops read you took out the igniter/black powder? Is that right? Also, where does one find all that hydrogen? Electrolysis? or do you have some cylinders lying around the lab?
How does the tracking device work? Is it just a walky talky with a 555 tone generator? Will you triangulate? Where's the Gieger counter? I didn't see it in the sketchup, is it in the man?
I took out the black powder for above mentioned reasons.
Due my contacts with a Chinese university I can launch a weather balloon everytime. They are launching every day dozens of weather balloons.
The TX walkie talkie is triggered by a 555 to bypass the automatic power off function. I do not triangulate. The RX walkie talkie is just equipped with a directonal Yagi antenna.
Geiger counter is on hold, will maybe add to next version
