The Joys of Failure

 

Accelerometer data from the test flight

Though I am working on a new research project for TRAIN this semester I am still participating in the project that I did research for last semester, the ASCEND program.  ASCEND is an Arizona Space Grant Consortium Workforce Development program in which student teams design and build payloads for launch on high-altitude weather balloons that can reach altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet.  My part in the payload is atmospheric profiling, while there are other team members designing the mechanical, video stabilization, video streaming, and power systems of the payload.  

The final launch is scheduled for March 27th but we had a test flight on February 20th.  The test flight resulted in a crash but gave a lot of helpful information regarding what we need to improve before the final launch.  

For my part, I was able to collect data during the short flight and did some analysis and visualization seen above and below.  I also included some pictures of the event.  Though it ended in failure it provided very valuable feedback for our design, whatever you are working on, do not be afraid of failure.  Failure is bound to occur when you push yourself to the edge of your capabilities.  It is the response to failure that sometimes makes the biggest difference, not the failure itself.

Animation of the acceleration above on the x-axis