LaCrosse science teacher seeks funding for high altitude balloon science project

Matt Wysock and two of his students prepare to launch a high altitude helium weather balloon last May near Rock Lake. Wysock plans to repeat the science experiment with his class this year and is raising funds to replace much of the equipment, which was lost in last year's launch after the tracker was disabled mid-flight.

The winds were blowing calmly north to south on the warm May day last spring when LaCrosse science teacher Matt Wysock took his class just south of Rock Lake to launch what Wysock described as a “big helium weather balloon.”

The class had been preparing to launch the balloon and track the temperature, pressure and altitude, among other things, as well as take video and photographs, but shortly after the launch contact with the GPS tracker was lost.

“The tracker went out around 36,000 feet,” Wysock said. “It is probably somewhere out in a cow pasture, I suspect.”

With the tracker out, Wysock was unable to receive all the information expected from the balloon, which he said exploded.

“The balloons are not reusable,” he said. “They explode as the balloon increases in altitude.”

Though he knew from the beginning he would not get the balloon back, losing the equipment was a much different story. The GoPro camera belonged to him, and he had paid for the sensors and parachute out of his own pocket. The school provided the funding for helium to launch the balloon, and he received funding for the tracker from a grant.

Wysock is now looking to do the project again, and he is seeking funds to cover the cost of the equipment he needs to replace as well as the helium gas.

“I would like to try it again,” he said. “It is a little late to write a grant, and a grant is not guaranteed.”

With that in mind, Wysock started a GoFundMe page online to solicit funds.

“I thought I would try this and see if it works,” he said.

The GoFundMe page details the cost of the project, with the Eagle Pro Weather Balloon Kit coming in at $700 and the APRS Radio Transmitter and the helium being $200 each. In all, Wysock needs $1,100 to get the project off the ground.

The kit includes an Eagle flight computer which records temperature, pressure, altitude, wind speed and GPS coordinates. The kit also includes a flight frame, camera mount, weather balloon, near space parachute, weather balloon inflator, spot trace satellite tracker and flight manual.

“I am always looking for new ways to engage my students and get them interested and excited about science,” Wysock wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Wysock told the Gazette that he started this project with his students two years ago. His first launch, he said, was done with a Moscow physics teacher, Pat Blunt, who was doing it with his class.

“That one went up to 80,000 feet,” Wysock recalled. “And keep in mind, your standard passenger jet goes to about 36,000 feet.”

Wysock incorporated the project into his class last year and said he wants to keep it going.

“Whatever happened to it, I would like to continue providing my students with this exciting experience,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page.

Wysock said he learned from that experience that even proper planning and preparation might not guarantee a perfect launch.

“I'm still learning it. Things go wrong in even the best of circumstances,” he said. “If something fails or something goes wrong, you are out of luck.”

Wysock said one of the most exciting things about the project for his students is seeing the video footage once the launch is complete and the camera is back on the ground.

“The video footage for them is the most impressive part,” he said. “Looking down on the earth from those views is incredible.”

Since he did not get the equipment back last year, he does not have last year's footage, but he does have the footage from the previous year. If all goes well this year, he will have the footage after the launch. He said he plans to share the footage to YouTube after the launch. He also said that anyone who contributes to the fund will have their name or group written on the launch platform as a sponsor.

Wysock said he recently heard a story of Stanford students who had launched a high altitude balloon and gotten it back more than a year later. He said he thinks it would be great if his equipment was somehow found.

“The address and phone number are on there and it is bright orange,” he said. “Maybe a farmer will run across it, and maybe we will get it back some day.”

Wysock said the equipment is in a waterproof case, so even with it being exposed to the elements for nearly a year now, it may still be salvageable and the video footage may also be good.

“It depends on how damaged it is,” he said.

Wysock said that when his class does the project, they will be tracking weather patterns to determine where the launch site will be located.

“It is not completely accurate, but it gives you a pretty good idea,” he said. “We'll be tracking those weather patterns in the week leading up to it.”

He stated that he needs to secure the funding and purchase the materials by the end of March in order to make the project a reality.

The GoFundMe page can be found at: https://www.gofundme.com/5mg5gw2g.