Austin Physics for Fun

Join us for a hike on Brushy Creek Trail and dive into lively conversations on physics and beyond! Share something new you’ve learned, ask questions, explain ideas, or brainstorm with a partner. And if all else fails—chat about the weather. That’s physics too. :-)

We will meet at the green benches on south side (behind) of the restroom facility at Brushy Creek Sports park. The coordinates (latitude, longitude) are 30.505386, -97.779596.

Address: 2310 Brushy Creek Rd, Cedar Park, TX 78613

We will walk westward on the trail up to the public parking lot at the YMCA / Twin Lakes, and return back to the sports park, covering a distance of about 4.3 miles.

The walk will follow a paved trail, with only a brief unpaved stretch. The path is generally flat, with mild inclines in a few spots. Regular shoes/footwear is sufficient—no hiking boots needed. Be sure to bring adequate water. Each participant is fully responsible for their own health and safety.

Sunset is at 6:55pm. It will start getting darker on the way back from Twin Lakes. Bring a flashlight or use one in your phone.

Entire trail map at: https://www.wilcotx.gov/1288/Brushy-Creek-Regional-Trail . We will walk over a small portion only.

During the walk, remember to follow these guidelines:
* Be courteous to your conversation partners.
* Don't monopolize time. Give your partners a fair share of speaking time.

If you RSVP 'Yes' but later find you can't attend, please update your RSVP to 'No.' This helps the host account for everyone and start on time.

This event is managed by Nature Nerds Austin -- https://www.meetup.com/nature-nerds-of-austin/

This is the monthly design status and update meeting. Participation is both in person and online.

The meeting will be held at a private makerspace, Diogenes. It is located in the same building as the adult club Colette Austin. The door is at the left end of the building, Suite C. Go to the back of the first floor workspace and head upstairs.

If you have questions please feel free to submit them in the comments below or send them to me directly.

Zoom meeting details will be posted about a half hour before the meeting begins.

HABEX - High Altitude Balloon Experiments

The reference to experiments is two-fold. The first is in regard to the actual balloon construction and flight processes. The second is a reference to the payload and what it does during the flight (e.g. images, environmental measurements, etc.). To be clear, there will be two design processes going on in parallel, the balloon proper and the payload. This initial flight is really focusing on the balloon to get that process pinned down and clearly defined. The initial payload should be simple (e.g. digital camera taking pictures).

One of the primary design considerations will be the use of CanSat techniques in the design and construction process. We may need to build a technology demonstrator for this (i.e. dummy payload) before the actual flight process.

CanSat -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CanSat

Design Process:

Design/Buy > Assemble > Test > Loop (Will it fly?) > Flight Plan

Meeting Sequence:

Pilot - Initial meeting (possibly two) to gauge interest and get first round of participants.

Design - Group responsible for the first four stages of the Design Process. - Multiple meetings.

Pre-Flight - Review process to date and verify readiness - Set the date of launch - Possibly two meetings

Launch - Two teams (Launch and Recovery)

Clean up - Launch team cleans up launch site and transitions to tracking and telemetry

Recovery - Recovery team (possibly several groups) chases the balloon and tries to stay ahead of it.

Post-Flight - Review, analysis, and release of flight report (including experimental results if any).

Flight Plan:

• Pre-Flight
• Schedule
• Assembly
• Launch
• Tracking
• Recovery
• Review/Release Results

Constraints:

• COVID 19
• Budget
• Resources/Tools/Facilities
• Legal (e.g. FAA rules about weight and number of modules)
• People
• Transportation