One balloon, three GoPros, 5:30 am wakeup call, a dozen sensors, 15 people and seven months were just a few elements of the effort it took the Near Space Program to launch a capsule 300 meters into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Capsule “Eagle - HML1” was a test trial to assess some of the equipment the real launch will use.

“The experience of building this project was incredible and watching the capsule go up during the tether test was great,” explained 11th grader Alejandro Gonzalez, “I really look forward to seeing it rise much higher during the actual launch, and hopefully, next year as well.”

A height of 40,000 meters would be ideal in order for students and advisor Mr. Brandvold to collect information from the “Near Space Region” (region 100 km above Earth’s atmosphere).

This project was created by the group entirely from scratch, including the computers used to capture the data, the app, interactive website and parachute; marking an achievement for STEM organizations and researchers at ASFM.

The footage from this capsule will show the edge of the Earth, made available to all students, alumni, and administrators through social media.

Data collected would include ozone levels, CO2, temperature, humidity, and pressure.