HAPS-1, UMSFB1 redux Options

[jamescanvin]

Here is an attempt to fill in the missing bits using stills from the video.

[ElkGroveDan]

Someone needs to name an asteroid or a comet after James.

[imipak]

Seconded, 'cos an island just isn't enough !

Really amazing,.. but I have a bad case of altitude sickness (I want MORE!! ) Oh dear, fantasy ballooning... I'm daydreaming about a stabilisation vane for the ascent taking the form a tube-launched rocket (or rather, fins at one end of it) with the imaging payload at one end? At 10mb there wouldn't be much need for a strong (heavy) aerodynamic fairing, so long as the payload and decent chute could take the G. Horizontal launch with a simple mechanical system to steer the rocket vertically upwards after a near-horizontal launch... I've got such a system in mind, but luckily there's insufficient space in this margin to describe it. Hmmm, rocket mass... multiple balloons... lifting capacity... *hits google with a naive hope that it won't instantly prove to be a non-starter*
(Edit:grammar fix)

[djellison]

Technically, Canvey Island is visible in the images, I think. Foulness Island almost certainly is.

[Edward Moore]

Really amazing,.. but I have a bad case of altitude sickness (I want MORE!! ) Oh dear, fantasy ballooning... I'm daydreaming about a stabilisation vane for the ascent taking the form a tube-launched rocket (or rather, fins at one end of it) with the imaging payload at one end? I'm thinking that at 10mb there wouldn't be much need for a strong (heavy) aerodynamic fairing, so long as the payload and decent chute could take the G. Horizontal launch with a simple mechanical system to steer the rocket vertically upwards after a near-horizontal launch... I've got such a system in mind, but luckily there's insufficient space in this margin to describe it. Hmmm, rocket mass... multiple balloons... lifting capacity... *hits google with a naive hope that it won't instantly prove to be a non-starter*

http://www.cuspaceflight.co.uk/martlet

We're having a go!

[Paolo Amoroso]

Maybe some kind of radiation or cosmic-ray detecting device.

Consider one of the photos near apogee that show mostly black sky, such as this. If Doug takes a dark frame on the ground with the same equipment and the same camera settings, possibly cooling it a bit to have comparable thermal noise levels, it might be possible to compare noise densities or patterns in the images and check for any radiation effects. Can similar comparisons be done with electronic noise in the videos soundtracks?


Paolo Amoroso

[Del Palmer]

If Doug takes a dark frame on the ground with the same equipment and the same camera settings, possibly cooling it a bit to have comparable thermal noise levels, it might be possible to compare noise densities or patterns in the images and check for any radiation effects.

No need to cool the camera, as cosmic ray hits are very obvious -- they leave bright pixels or trails on the image, given a long-enough exposure.