A school's ambitious project to send a balloon into 'Near
Space' has been postponed until the summer.
All good missions suffer a delay or two, but there is still frustration and disappointment for the team from Queen Mary
Grammar School in Walsall, who have used key
STEM skills in their project to send a helium filled weather balloon
over 30km (18 miles) into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The appalling weather in March put paid to two intended launch dates. The prospect of
heavy cloud and rain led to the postponement of the original launch date
of 9th March, and the flight was rescheduled for two weeks later, only for the Midlands to be hit by heavy snowfall and high winds.
Adam Coghlan, the teacher who is leading 'Project Horizon', explained that the weather conditions made the flight impossible on 23rd March. "I struggled to leave my village because of a fallen tree blocking one route and snow drifts making another route impassable", he told Rapid. "With snow still falling across the entire flight path and winds that were too strong to launch in, I had no choice but to cancel and search for an alternate date. Horizon 2 is ready to go, all of the systems have been tested and are finished so the team are a little frustrated at not being able to fly."
After discussions with the school and the Civil Aviation Authority, a new date of June 30 was agreed. Rapid have supported 'Project Horizon' by donating hardware and components to the team.
horizon.qmgs.walsall.sch.uk