DeKALB – A student group at NIU plans to launch a weather balloon into the upper stratosphere from NIU’s football field in the first week of May.
The group, Proxima Centauri Alpha, consists of 16 members despite being started this semester and helps STEM students network with faculty researchers and research opportunities.
The balloon is set to launch at 10 a.m. on May 3. The event is open to the public for viewing. It also counts as an honors student engagement activity.
To launch the balloon, the organization had to seek approval from federal aviation authorities (FAA), according to Proxima Centauri Alpha’s President Charlie Vazquez Acosta, a senior double majoring in applied physics and mathematics.
“Typically the way these things go is you get clearings from the FAA,” Vasquez Acosta said. “What they do is they approve our launch, they approve the launch site, and it requires determining all possible liability aspects.”
The balloon will include a number of measurement tools, including a geiger counter that measures radiation.
Balloons of this type can reach heights up to 140,000 feet, according to Vazquez Acosta.
“Some type of GPS tracker is attached to the balloon so that we know, and the FAA knows, where the balloon is at at all times,” Vazquez Acosta said. “The balloon might fall anything between one mile to two miles from the launch site.”
The balloon will hold a camera and record high definition video, Vazquez Acosta said.
As the balloon ascends, it will increase in size and can reach up to 20 feet in diameter, about the size of a four door sedan.
In addition to launching the balloon, the group created an opportunity for students to be part of the launch.
The organization said anyone at NIU can submit a lightweight item to be attached to the weather balloon when it is launched into space.
Anyone interested can submit an item before 11:59 p.m March 27 via a Google form. The winner will be decided the following day and will receive $100 from the organization.
The organization accepts any STEM majors with at least a 3.5 GPA or who have demonstrated merit in STEM via coursework or extracurriculars.
“The organization’s purpose is to promote academic excellence and have STEM students engage in STEM projects, and for students in the field of STEM to have an organization that they can count on to solely do exactly that,” said Vasquez Acosta.
Vice president and second year math and physics double major Sergei Uzunian discussed other opportunities that the organization brings for its members.
“Besides just connecting people with research experience, we provide students the opportunity to exercise their own initiatives while they work on projects, which is consequently a great way of building your portfolio,” said Uzunian.
The organization expressed a need for sponsors ahead of the balloon’s launch.
“Anybody who sponsors us, we’re going to promote the sponsor or organization when we have meets, when we do public events, and those sponsors are going to gain their name on the weather balloon,” Vasquez Acosta said.
Senior mathematical science major Nathan Lee, who is the director of legal and business affairs for the organization, discussed what additional funding would be used for.
“If we do get better sponsorships, we can potentially get better items, not just the balloon, but also the cameras and some of the other counterparts,” Lee said.
