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The Near-Space Team from Lincoln School in Garwood, NJ successfully launched a high altitude balloon (HAB) on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. The team, which was composed of fifth, sixth and seventh grade students, worked together over the course of a few months with the team's advisor, Ms. Denise Cafiero to research, plan, design, construct, launch and track the HAB.

 

The entire student body gathered for the countdown which launched a 1200g weather balloon into the upper stratosphere. A chase team was able to track the balloon as it traveled upwards to near-space and then 105 miles east of the launch site. The balloon reappeared on the GPS tracker after a 3 hour flight when it landed 2 miles off the shore of the Long Island Sound in Calverton, NY. The Dive and Rescue Team at the Riverhead Police Department stepped in and retrieved the payload 27 hours after landing and Cafiero brought the payload, Mustang 1, back home to her team on Thursday, June 8th. Mustang 1 carried a GoPro camera, Spot GPS tracker, science experiments and a flight computer. Lincoln School's Near-Space Team captured some of the most amazing photos of the curvature of the Earth and video footage of the flight.

 

To complete the project, Cafiero applied and received a grant through the Education Foundation of Garwood, a tax-free volunteer run organization that seeks to partner with the schools and the community in pursuit of educational excellence. In addition, the Near-Space Team received funding through DonorsChoose.org, a nonprofit website that allows individuals to donate directly to public school classroom projects. Both sources allowed Ms. Cafiero to expose the students of Lincoln School to a high quality STEM education.

 

Cafiero credits the amazing educators she met during Honeywell Educators at Space Academy program at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center last June with the inspiration for the project.