Today FM Ray d'Arcy show balloon launch

Space Ray on target to launch on 19th July !

Launch location - Omagh, Co. Tyrone

Predicted maximum altitude - 101,700 feet

Predicted flight time to burst - 118 minutes

Predicted landing site - Convoy, Co. Donegal

Total flight time to touchdown - 2h 34m

Preparation is everything 

First balloon launch of 2013

They say preparaton is everything !

After a perfect flight, launching in Glenties Co. Donegal, the capsule passed Donegal Bay and flew over the Eniskillen Lake District, destination of the recent G8 before finally coming down on the Lietrim / Cavan border near the Marble Arch caves.

On retrieving the capsule I found the memory card in the camera was corrupted, due either to a cable being broken during descent of a fault in the card. I am currently running a scan and repair program to see if any images / video can be retrieved. 

The parachute seems to have got tangled during descent which probably caused the camera cable to snap during rapid descent  

Back to the drawing board ! 

New launch !

Launch Update !

Next launch scheduled for Sunday 11th November ! From Donegal

Lift off ! From Galway Shopping Centre at 3.00pm

The Launch is on !!

Latest Update !

Due to poor weather conditions the launch was cancelled last week

But we are ready to go from Galway Shopping Centre tomorrow !

Launch will be at approximately 14.00 hours BST

Weather permitting !!

Next launch date confirmed ! At the Volvo Ocean Race Finale.
Between 30th June and 8th July! Exact date to be confirmed nearer the time
http://www.volvooceanracegalway.ie/

Okay ! Help needed !
I am launching a series of balloons between the middle of May to end of June ... I need help with tracking and recovery !!!
Launches will take place somewhere around Athlone ... I need people on the East coast to track the balloon on my facebook / twitter accounts and try and retrieve it for me as it comes down...... I will be posting live updates of the flight .... so if it's near you... you have the chance of finding it! http://www.facebook.com/groups/221239324568936/

twitter : @nearspaceman

Just subscribe to my face book or twitter page for updates !