Spirit of Knoxville

The Spirit of Knoxville is a high altitude balloon project run by University of Tennessee students, with the ultimate goal of successfully sending an unmanned balloon across the Atlantic Ocean. The project is named for Charles Lindbergh's record-breaking "Spirit of St. Louis" aircraft.As of June 2008, four flights have been made, of which two were intended to cross the Atlantic, a goal which has yet to be achieved.

History

The project began in 2005, under the direction of students from the "University of Tennessee Amateur Radio Club". The first Spirit of Knoxville "SNOX" designated flight was "SNOX 1", reaching an altitude in excess of 11 kilometers. Three further flights followed, the most recent being "SNOX IV", launching March 11 2008.

The latter two missions, "SNOX III" and "IV", were both trans-Atlantic crossing attempts, but ultimately failed. "SNOX IV" did, however, traverse a significant distance, and came within only a few hundred kilometers of Ireland.

Overview

The project uses custom-built zero-pressure balloons with ballast dropped during cruise to maintain a constant altitude (although lift provided by solar heating is also used). The electronics comprise a flight computer, radio transmitter, electric heater, and GPS.

Amateur radio operators voluntarily assist in tracking the balloons during their flights.

External links

pirit of Knoxville Official

* [http://www.spiritofknoxville.com Spirit of Knoxville Homepage]
* [http://utarc.org University of Tennessee Amateur Radio Club]

Press

* [http://www.metropulse.com/news/2008/feb/07/cross-atlantic/ "Cross the Atlantic"] cover story on Metro Pulse