17th of February 2011

1|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
My research-project on ‘project SpaceHD’ is divided into a few chapters. Each of these chapters has been
divided into paragraphs and subparagraphs again. An overview of the structure of this essay:

1. Introduction page 3 4. Mathematical preparations page 14

1.1. The idea 4.1. Calculating amount of helium needed
1.2. Hypothesis 4.2. Calculating ascent and descent rate
1.3. Approach 4.3. Calculating burst height

2. Inventory page 4 5. Legal preparations page 19

2.1. Supplies 5.1. Risks
2.1.1. Weather Balloon 5.2. Law
2.1.2. Photo camera’s 5.3. Insurance
2.1.3. Full-HD Camcorder 5.4. Informing airports/instances
2.1.4. GPS-tracker
2.1.5. Temperature sensor 6. Launching the balloon page 26
2.1.6. Battery’s 6.1. Choosing the right date
2.1.7. Isolation 6.2. Impression of the launch
2.1.8. Cords
2.1.9. Parachute 7. Retrieving SpaceHD page 28
2.1.10. Helium 7.1. Log
2.1.11. Alarm 7.2. Location
2.2. Budget 7.3. State of the SpaceHD
2.3. Purchasing goods
2.3.1. Planned expenditures 8. Results page 32
2.3.2. Real expenditures 8.1. Images
2.4. Sponsor contributions 8.2. Video
8.3. Temperature measurements
3. Construction page 10 8.4. Height reached/Kilometres travelled
3.1. Payload-box
3.1.1. Planned approach 9. Media/Press page 56
3.1.2. Building the payload-box 9.1. Newspapers
3.2. Message in a bottle 9.2. Radio & TV
3.3. Camera’s
3.3.1. Installing CHDK 10. Comments page 62
3.3.2. Writing script for camera’s
3.3.3. Testing run-down time 11. Sources page 64

2|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
1.1 The Idea
The most frequently asked question I’ve heard during the project is: “How did you ever come to this
idea?”. Well, that story has actually got two sides. I started getting interested into this space-related
technology when my physics teacher showed me a letter from the TU Delft. The TU was searching for
students from the 5th grade who were interested in creating a spacecraft, all based on a Coca Cola tin.
They would then launch this tin into space once it was finished. Every student that wanted to join had
to pay 500 euros, which is a lot of money! In the end this project, called SpaceCan, did not continue
which I thought was a shame.

I then started searching the internet, and found out that some people in other countries had
successfully launched a photo camera into the stratosphere. This interested me very much, and I
thought that it would be really great to do something like that with a Full-HD, high quality camcorder.
This would however have to be done with relatively cheap materials, and I would have to be able to
build the entire system myself. I then went to school and introduced my subject to my physics
teacher, she was impressed! I then invented the name ‘SpaceHD’, and the project started!

1.2 Hypothesis
Is it possible to launch a weather-balloon, equipped with a Full-HD camera, into space to capture the
earth, and then get it back to earth, using only simple consumers electronics without violating the
law, or taking too many risks.

1.3 Approach
I decided to first take a good look into my possibilities: Is it really possible and legal to do such thing as
launching a weather balloon? After I would have made sure that it was, I decided that it might be a
good idea to build a website. By using this website, I could receive more publicity and thus sponsors
for the project. If the project would be completed successfully, the website would also be used to
publish the photos and video that had been taken. After I would have collected all the money that I
needed, I planned to contact the KNMI (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteologisch Instituut), IVW (Instituut
Verkeer & Waterstaat) and LVNL (Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland) to check their opinion on the
project. I would then construct the payload box and purchase all the necessary goods. I then read into
wind speeds, and decided that is would be very important to calculate where the balloon would land,
in order to ensure a good retrieval of the payload.

3|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
2.1 Supplies
Before I could start collecting money, I obviously had to know what to collect first. Because of this, I
made a list of the inventory I would need during the project. This is the final list:

2.1.1 Weather balloon

The most important part of the entire project is of course the weather
balloon. A weather balloon is a big latex balloon, used by meteorological
institutes all over the world. Because of the fact that the balloon is
produced using the very elastic latex, it can expand very well. This
expanding characteristic is very important, because the contents of the
balloon will expand a lot during the flight. More about this in chapter 4.

2.1.2 Photo camera’s

In the beginning, I settled upon buying only one photo camera, which I would then place at the
side of the payload-box. However, after thinking about this again, I thought that two
camera’s might me a lot better: I would then also be able to see what
‘happened’ under the SpaceHD. I read about CHDK3 earlier and thus knew that
I needed Canon photo cameras. CHDK is a set of tools which you can install on
your Canon photo camera. Once these
tools are installed, the camera is kind of
‘hacked’. In such a way that you can send
commands to the processing unit in the camera
using a well-known scripting language: Basic. More about
this in chapter 3.

2.1.3 Full-HD camcorder

It took me a lot of time to find the right camcorder. It had to be
light, shock resistant and small but next to that, it would have to
produce terrific images which would impress everybody.
I chose the GoPro Hero HD4 because it featured all the
characteristics I had been searching for.

4|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
2.1.4 GPS-tracker
GPS trackers are quite expensive, and because I wanted to
keep the project as cheap as possible, I decided to buy a GPS-
tracker in China5. It had to be small, but above all stable. If this
device would fail, I would not be able to find the payload back.

2.1.5 Temperature Sensor

I ordered (in consultation with school) a temperature sensor to keep track of the temperature
during the flight. It was quite difficult to find a sensor that worked without being attached to a
computer, but in the end I found a relatively cheap sensor from a
company called Lascar6.

2.1.6 Batteries
All the devices in the payload box needed energy. I had to choose between attaching
them all to one big battery or leaving the power supply decentralized: every device
would have its own power supply in this last case. I chose for the last option,
because it reduced the risk of failure, and it kept the project cheap. I thus had to
buy a power supply for the alarm, an extra power supply for the camcorder, and
sufficient batteries for both Canon Camera’s. The temperature sensor already

shipped with a good battery. After doing research, I ended up using Lithium
Ion batteries from Energizer7 for the Canon’s. These were very resistant to
temperature, and could thus handle the cold up in the air very well. For the
GoPro I used a solar-charging battery from A-Solar8 which I already owned, and
connected it to the camera using USB. I used a regular 9V battery from Philips
for the alarm (very well isolated).

2.1.7 Isolation
I have had a lot of luck with getting my hands on the right isolation material. At the moment, we
are building a new house. I asked the building company if it was possible to get some of the
isolation material which they used. It wasn’t a problem, and I got a large piece of the so called
‘Styrofoam’, which is an excellent insulator.

2.1.8 Cords
I needed strong cords, because the balloon pulls quite heavily. The payload-box would be swinging
to all sides, and I it would be a big problem if the cords broke. The law however reads that you
may never use cords with a breaking force higher than 230 N. Therefore I settled on a Nylon
braided cord with 1.0 mm diameter that breaks at a force of exactly 220 N. It weighed 6 grams per
meter. More about this in 2.3)

5|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
2.1.9 Parachute
The parachute shouldn’t be too small, but not too big either, because that might cause startle
responses when the payload lands on earth. I therefore set the size of the balloon to be between
50 and 100 centimetres in diameter. 50 cm. is the absolute minimum to keep the speed below 5
m/s while descending.

2.1.10 Helium
I needed helium to fill the weather balloon. I ended up needing 3000 liters of helium (see chap. 4)

2.1.11 Alarm
Small, noisy device that should produce enough sound to be heard from ± 100 meters.

2.2 Budget
I decided that the budget was going to be 600 euros, based on what I expected all the necessary
goods to cost. Although this isn’t really much, if you compare it to the costs which for instance the
NASA makes for photographing the earth, it still is a lot of money. First I went to school, where they
told me that 600 euros was too much: They had a budget for these projects, but that budget wasn’t
that big. So, together with my physics teacher, I figured that I would have to find sponsors in order to
make my project come true. I designed this neat image showing everything that I needed to make it
clear for sponsors where their money was going, and published it on my website. (See page 7)

6|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
 Image published on the website, showing the inventory needed.
7|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
2.3 Purchasing goods
Now that I had figured that I had 600 euro’s to spend, and which part of the money would go where,
I could start spending the money. This page contains two tables. The first one shows the planned
expenditures, the second table shows the real expenditures.

2.3.1 Planned expenditures

Description Costs
Weather balloon €100,-
Full-HD Camcorder €250,-
Helium €100,-
GPS Tracker €70,-
Parachute €30,-
Isolation €20,-

Total expenditures €600,-

2.3.2 Real expenditures

Description Costs
Weather balloon €100,-
Full-HD Camcorder €210,-
Helium €95,20
GPS Tracker €58,50
Parachute €9,80
Isolation €0,-
Sim-card (simyo) €1,-
Nylon-cord € 2,80
Energizer Lithium Ion batteries €8,-
Temperature logger €63,70
Photo camera’s (Canon A480 & Canon A540) €75,00
Alarm + battery €10,00

Total expenditures €634,-

The lower table is more complete than the upper table, because I forgot a few things when I first
determined the budget. Most of them are small things, and do not really have impact on the
budget.

8|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
2.4 Sponsor contributions
So, I needed 600 euros. Where was I going to get all this money from? I started by asking my physics
teacher if, and how many, my school could contribute to my project. It ended up to be €300,-, with
which I was very happy. In consolidation with mrs. Winterwerp, I decided that I would try to get the
rest of the money from sponsors. And only 4-5 weeks later, is succeeded in this. The entire budget
was covered by the sponsors. A list of them may not be left out of this essay, because they are the
people who made this all possible:

Name Contribution
RSG N.O.-Veluwe €300,-
Mijndomein.nl €30,-
Trailer Service Nederland €50,-
Fam. Van ‘t Land €50,-
J. Roelen €25,-
L. Dijkstra €30,-
J. van Doorm €10,-
G. Horst €30,-
Gulickx Schoenen €25,-
Fam. Mulder €10,-
RSG N.O.-Veluwe - afdeling Natuurkunde €64,-
C. Hoogers €20,-

Total sponsor contributions €644,-

9|P age
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
3.1 Payload-box
An important, and the most work-intensive part of the project is the Payload box. Payload is the
English word for ‘The total weight of the instruments, crew, and life-support systems that a spacecraft
carries or can carry’9. The first thing to think about was the form, and the size of the payload. I
decided that the payload should not weigh more than 1 kg. Because if it would, it would cost me lots
of expensive Helium, and the risk of someone getting hurt when the payload falls back to earth would
be too big. I therefore needed a lightweight material that isolated very well. The Payload would have
to survive temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius!

3.1.1 Planned approach

I made this sketch, showing the exact measurements of the items in the payload box, as well as
from the box itself.

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SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
3.1.2 Building the payload-box
I build the payload box using BASF Styrodur, which, as I told earlier, I got from our new houses’
building site. This material is very lightweight, and isolates very good. It’s also good material to
work with. I started of burning away the parts that had to be cut out of the housing using a
soldering iron. This worked, but then I thought of something better:
My father owns a so-called ‘Dremel’. Which is a handy tool that comes
with many accessories. Using the drill accessory, I drilled away all the
surplus Styrodur, to create empty spaces in which my devices could be
placed. They were then in a fixed position, and had sufficient isolation
from the cold outside temperature.

I have filmed the entire building process, and placed a ‘fast-version’ of

the movie on YouTube10. The URL to the movie can be found in the
sources and links list at the end of this essay.

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SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
3.2 Message in a bottle
Next to the GPS-tracker, which I placed in the payload, there is another possible way to retrieve the
Payload-box once it has landed. It’s the well-known “Message in a bottle” method, but a little
different: I attached a message on the outside of the payload-box. The message has been created in
such a way that it would make people cautious of the fact that what they found is something serious.
It’s made to impress people. Then, if someone finds it, the notice asks them to call one of the
numbers mentioned. These are my numbers of course, both in national and international format.

The message pasted on the top of the payload-box:

3.3 Cameras
For project SpaceHD, I needed special cameras, because there are nearly no camera’s that can shoot
photo’s themselves. Sure, many have a timer function, which gives the photographer 10 seconds to
stand in position, before it shoots the picture, but there are nearly no camera’s that keep on shooting
on a given interval, for instance 10 seconds. I had to find a solution for this, and I found one! CHDK!

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Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
3.3.1 Installing CHDK
What is CHDK? CHDK is an abbreviation for Canon Hack Development
Kit3. It’s developed by an open-source community. CHDK is what we call
an ‘alternative firmware’ for photo cameras. Which means as much as
that you replace the manufacturer’s software with your own, or in this case.
With CHDK. CHDK tells the camera to listen to a script. This script has to be written by the user.

3.3.2 Because of the fact that the script should be written in Basic, which is a well-known programming
language I already knew about, I was able to write my own script for the camera, telling it to take
a photo on a given interval. This is the script that I wrote:

1 h=-1
2 j=-1755
3 @title SpaceHD interval
4 @param a Delay 1st Shot (Mins)
5 @default a 0
6 @param b Delay 1st Shot (Secs)
7 @default b 0
8 @param c Number of Shots (0 inf)
9 @default c 0
10 @param d Interval (Minutes)
11 @default d 0
12 @param e Interval (Seconds)
13 @default e 10
14 @param f Interval (10th Seconds)
15 @default f 0
16 n=0
17 t=(d*600+e*10+f)*100+j
18 if c<1 then let c=0
19 if t<100 then let t=100
20 g=(a*60)+b+h
21 if g<=0 then goto "interval"
22 for m=1 to g
23 print "Intvl Begins:", (g-m)/60; "min", (g-m)%60; "sec"
24 sleep 930
25 next m
26 :interval
27 n=n+1
28 if c=0 then print "Shot", n else print "Shot", n, "of", c
29 shoot
30 if n=c then shut_down

It is based on already existing scripts, but fine-tuned for my purpose. I have not got any further
sources for the programming language Basic, because I already knew how to write something like
this before I started with this project.

3.3.3 Testing run-down time

I tested both camera´s with Duracell batteries and they photographed for 6 hours before they ran
out of battery power. This was a good sign: The batteries which I planned to use during the flight
were even better than these Duracell batteries. I was satisfied with the result.

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Remco Tjeerdsma
4.1 Calculating amount of helium needed
For calculating the amount of helium that I was going to need, I asked the reseller of my balloon for
some information concerning the balloon first. He returned me the following information11:

Balloon Weight (gr) 500 600 700 800 1000 1200

(Optimal) Diameter at Release (cm) 133 142 146 150 157 179
Diameter at Burst (cm) 499 602 653 700 786 863
Drag coefficient 0,25 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,25

What this table tells us is that my balloon, which weighs 1200 grams (most right column), is supposed
to have a diameter of 179 cm when releasing the balloon and a diameter of 863 cm when the balloon
pops, high in the air. The drag coefficient equals 0,25.

Let’s first discuss the weight of Helium. Helium weighs only 0.1785 kg/m3, whereas air weighs ± 1.25
kg/m3. These are values from the BINAS, table 12. To determine the density of air, I used the value
mentioned for nitrogen, since air exists for about 80% of nitrogen. One cubic meter of helium can lift
the difference between the weight of air and helium. An example, using 1 m 3:
 1 m3 of air weighs 1.25 kg’s.
 1 m3 of helium weighs 0.1785 kg.
 The difference: 1.25-0.1785 = 1,0715 kg is the amount of weight which one m 3 of helium can
lift.
 Now that we know this, we can calculate the amount of m 3 Helium that is needed to lift one
kilo of material:
 Kg’s 1.0715 1
M3 Helium 1 (0.933)

 Now, using cross multiplication: we can fill in the lower right box: (1*1)/1.0715 = 0.933

So now that we know the lifting capacity of helium, we know that for the 2200 gram which SpaceHD
weighs (1200 grams for the balloon + 1000 grams for the payload), we will need: 2.2 * 0.933 = 2 m3 to
create enough lift to let the payload float. We however want the balloon to fly up into space. Not to
let it float above ground. We therefore have to add another m3 in order to get the balloon to fly into
the air at a nice speed. This one cubic meter, creates 1 Kg of free lift. This results in 9.81 Newton of
free lift (1*9.81). The total amount of m3 needed thus equals 3,0 m3.1.2*9.81
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Remco Tjeerdsma
 Calculating Fdrag:
D = Free lift (N), because we can assume
that the balloon rises at a constant
speed. Therefore, only seconds after
Fdrag launch, these values are equal. In this
case, D= 9,81 N.
Flift

Calculating Flift:
There is 3 cubic metres of Helium in the
Fgrav balloon. Each lifts approximately one
kilogram. In this case, the balloon will be
able to lift 3 kilograms. Then make
newton’s from the mass :
3 * 9.81 = 29.4 N

Calculating Fgrav:
There are two Fgrav’s in the schema:
One for the balloon:
9.81*1.2 kg = 11.77 N
One for the payload:
Payload – Box 9.81*1.0 kg = 9.81 N
Together: 11.77 N + 9.81 N = 21.58 N

Fgrav

Forces acting on the weather balloon. Fgrav = 9.81 * 2.2kg = 21.58 N.

Flift = 29.4 N (9.81 N per m3*3) & Fdrag = 9.81N

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SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
4.2 Calculating ascent & descend rate

Calculating ascent rate:

I use the formula for aerodynamic resistance for this:
D = Cd * ρ * A * 0,5 * r * V2

With:
D= Drag-resistance
Cd = Drag coefficient
A = Frontal surface
V = Speed
ρ = Density of air

First I will calculate A, the frontal surface.

In a sphere, that is the mid part of the sphere.(The largest surface.)

Formula for the volume of a sphere:

(The 3.0 m3 is the amount of helium that will be used, as shown in 4.1)

So, now that we have calculated the radius of the sphere, we can easily calculate the area of the mid-section of
the sphere:
= 2,5 m2

The ‘D’ in the formula, Drag-resistance = Free lift (N), because we can assume that the balloon rises at a
constant speed, a few seconds after launch. Therefore, only seconds after launch, these values are equal. In
this case, D= 9,81 (Free lift is 1 kg. Which makes 9.81 N (1 * 9.81)).

D = Cd * ρ * A * 0,5 * r * V2
9.81 = 0,25 * 1.25 * 2,5 * 0,5 * 0,89 * V2
9.81 = 0,34765625* V2
V2 = 9.81 / 0.34765625
√ m/s

Source that helped me a lot with these calculations is an excel sheet which I obtained from the
reseller of the weather balloon.14

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Remco Tjeerdsma
 Calculating descend rate:
For most of the trajectory, the descent speed of a round parachute has a near-constant value. We can
calculate this value using the following formula, obtained from pcprg.com 15

With:
V= vertical descent velocity in m/sec
W = weight of the parachute + load, in Newton’s. In my case 9.81N (1*9.81)
ρ = Air density = 1.25 Kg/m3 at sea level (which we use, because we are interested in the descend rate at sea level)
Cd = Parachute drag coefficient, which is 0.75 for a round parachute without holes.
A = Total surface area of the fabric used to build the parachute.
r = radius of the parachute, in my case 0.9 meters

First calculate the surface area of the parachute:

Then fill in the formula

Which is far below the limit of 5 m/s set by law. However, since the Air Density changes during the
parachute’s landing, the average velocity will be higher. I estimated the average velocity to be 5 m/s
during the entire fall down.

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Remco Tjeerdsma
4.3 Calculating burst-altitude

To calculate the burst-altitude, we need to know a few things:

 The volume of the balloon at launch

 The diameter of the balloon at the moment of the burst
o Using the diameter: The volume of the balloon at the moment of the burst
 The pressure at sea-level

Luckily, I know all this from the specifications received from the manufacturer of the balloon:

Balloon Weight (gr) 500 600 700 800 1000 1200

(Optimal) Diameter at Release (cm) 133 142 146 150 157 179
Diameter at Burst (cm) 499 602 653 700 786 863
Drag coefficient 0,25 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,3 0,25

We already know the volume of the balloon at launch, we calculated it in 4.1. The volume is 3 m3.
From the table, we can read that the diameter at burst equals 863 cm. Which makes the radius of the balloon
at that moment half of it: 431,5 cm = 4.315 m.

I can now calculate the volume of the balloon at its maximum altitude using the sphere-volume formula:
In this calculation we accept 2,5 m3 to be the launch-volume, instead of the 3 m3 in the other calculations.
This is because 2,5 m3 is the amount I used at the 9th of February. I want to know the reached height, so I use
the real value, instead of the planned value.

We now know that the volume increases. Actually, it increases (336.54/2.5) = 134.61 times!

I then use the following formula for calculating the height of the balloon:
-(7238,3*Ln(1/Burst Volume Ratio)), which I retrieved
from the excel sheet I got from the reseller of the
balloon14. It uses the NRLMSISE Standard Atmosphere
Model, which holds good to 80 Km. The 7238,3 is a
constant value that represents our atmosphere. Using
the formula, you can calculate the height of the burst.
Filling it in results in:
-(7238,3*Ln(1/134.61))= 35485 meter.

My balloon reached a stunning height of 35,485

meters! That is over half of the stratosphere!

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Remco Tjeerdsma
5.1 Risks

Of course, this project wasn’t totally risk-free. There were several different risks which I had to take into
account when planning the project. I then had to anticipate on these risks, in such way that I could prevent
them as much as possible. Risks that I had to think about:

1. Potential risks when launching the balloon. (Explosion, Crashing into objects).
2. Crashing into an airplane
3. Birds demolishing the balloon.
4. Landing area (Payload hurting people or objects).

Measures taken to prevent those risks as much as possible:

1. Instead of using the cheaper hydrogen gas, I used Helium. Helium ascends a bit slower, and is much
more expensive than Hydrogen, but it’s totally inflammable. Hydrogen is extremely flammable. By
using Helium, I thus completely prevented the risk of an exploding balloon.

My launching area was the green in front of the school. There are not many objects there which the
balloon could crash into. I also kept the audience a few metres away from the balloon and Payload.

2. The risk which was the most difficult to prevent was this one. How can you ever prevent the balloon
from colliding into an airplane? Very difficult. Van der Woude and me have been busy for quite some
time with this problem. He has really helped me a lot with solving this. I decided to dedicate a separate
paragraph to this problem. You will read more about this in paragraph 5.4.

3. This risk may sound funny when you first read it, but it certainly was a risk. Birds can puncture the
balloon very easy, and that would ruin my project instantly. The solution was very easy: I already
planned to attach an alarm to the balloon, in order to make it more easy to find. This alarm has been
turned on during the entire flight. The volume of the alarm was very high. Birds would never try to get
near such a noisy object. The sound would scare the birds

4. Another big risk: The landing of the balloon: It is impossible to predict where the balloon lands. It could
have landed on a highway, railroad, power line or even a person. I therefore had
to make sure that the object could not do much damage to these objects. I made
the payload as small as possible. Next to that, the payload weighed less than
one kilogram. The parachute that I attached to the payload would not only
slow it down significantly, because of the parachute, people could also see
the payload from far away. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it landed. The
alarm plays a role here as well: You can hear the alarm from 300-500
meters distance. You could hear the payload coming.
People would have been prepared for it.

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5.2 Law

Of course, it’s not ‘normal’ to launch a balloon with a diameter of 2 metres into ‘space’. I therefore had to find
out whether such an action is legal. Fortunately we have got laws and regulations for everything in the
Netherlands. As a result of that, there is even a law for launching balloons. The law is called ‘Regeling
kabelvliegers en kleine ballons’. The part of the ‘Regeling kabelvliegers en kleine ballons’ which was important
for my project is quoted here, I fulfilled all conditions:

Artikel 1. Begripsbepalingen

1.In deze regeling wordt verstaan onder:

a.kleine vrije ballon:
een ballon die niet is verbonden met het aardoppervlak en die op zeeniveau in de internationale standaard-atmosfeer in
geheel gevulde toestand een diameter van ten hoogste 2 m of een inhoud van ten hoogste 4 m⁳ heeft, dan wel een samenstel
van ballons waarvan de gezamenlijke diameter of inhoud deze waarden niet te boven gaan;
b.sfeerballon:
kleine vrije ballon, of samenstel van kleine vrije ballons, waarvan de hoogte of de breedte niet meer dan 75 cm bedraagt en die
geen metalen voorwerpen of onderdelen bevat.

2. Een kleine vrije ballon met uitzondering van een sfeerballon, wordt niet gebruikt:

a.anders dan voor gebruik ten behoeve van wetenschappelijk onderzoek, waaronder begrepen het gebruik voor
meteorologische doeleinden;

b.boven het grondgebied van een vreemde staat, tenzij met machtiging van die staat en in overeenstemming met de
voorschriften of beperkingen gesteld door die staat;

c.voor het meevoeren van voorwerpen met een gezamenlijke massa van 4 kg of meer dan wel een afzonderlijke massa van 3 kg
of meer;

d.voor het meevoeren van voorwerpen met een massa van 2 kg of meer, waarvan de oppervlakte-dichtheid meer bedraagt dan
13 gr/cm², en

e.indien voor het meevoeren van een voorwerp een bevestigingsmiddel wordt gebruikt dat een botsingskracht van 230
Newton of meer vereist om het voorwerp van de ballon te scheiden.

3.Een meegevoerd voorwerp met een massa van 30 gram of meer en een oppervlakte-dichtheid van 5 gr/cm² of meer wordt
voorzien van een valscherm dat de daalsnelheid beperkt tot maximaal 5 m/sec.

4.Voor het oplaten van een kleine vrije ballon binnen een afstand van 8 km van de grens van een gecontroleerde luchthaven is
de toestemming vereist van de betrokken plaatselijke luchtverkeersleidingsdienst; deze toestemming kan worden geweigerd
als de vaart van de ballon – gezien de heersende windrichting – zal voeren over het landingsterrein of over gebieden in de
omgeving daarvan, waarover luchtvaartuigen naderen of vertrekken en waardoor de orde en regelmaat van het luchtverkeer
wordt verstoord.

5.Het voornemen tot het oplaten van een kleine vrije ballon binnen een afstand van 3 km van de grens van de niet-
gecontroleerde burgerluchthavens wordt tijdig, doch uiterlijk twee uur vóór de voorgenomen oplating ter kennis gebracht aan
de betrokken havenmeester. Indien de vaart van de ballon – gezien de heersende windrichting – zal voeren over het
landingsterrein of onmiddellijke omgeving daarvan kan de havenmeester aanwijzingen geven om te voorkomen dat het
luchthavenverkeer wordt verstoord of in gevaar gebracht.

6.Degene die een kleine vrije ballon wil oplaten binnen een afstand van 3 km van een zweefvliegterrein stelt al het mogelijke in
het werk om vooraf overleg met de gebruiker van dat zweefvliegterrein te voeren.

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5.3 Insurance

A bit of a problem was the insurance. Mr. van der Woude wanted the project to be insured. Just in case,
because if something would happen, it could have cost me, or the school, a lot of money. I agreed and started
to search for options. Quite fast, however, I realized that not a single insurance company offered an insurance
for this occasion. Which is understandable, since it’s very difficult to predict the risks, and these projects do not
happen often.

This was a problem in the beginning. It took nearly 4 weeks of consulting with mr. van der Woude and other
instances to solve this problem. In the end I convinced all the instances that enough measures to prevent risks
were taken, and the project could be continued!

5.4 Informing airports/instances

There were several instances to inform: the LVNL, the KNMI, IVW. This resulted in the following conversation:

Beste Lvnl,

Ik neem bij deze contact met jullie op, omdat ik voornemens ben om deze winter een
weerballon op te laten om foto’s te maken van de atmosfeer.

Mij gingen al 2 personen voor die zo’n project met succes afgerond hebben. Ik zelf heb mijn
project ‘SpaceHD’ genoemd: Ik ben van plan om een High Definition video van de Stratosfeer
te maken.

Volgens de Regeling kabelvliegers en kleine ballons is het toegestaan om een weerballon (mits
deze voldoet aan bepaalde in die wet gestelde voorwaarden) op te laten.

Ik dacht dat u het wellicht op prijs zou stellen als ik jullie hier ook over zou informeren. Dat
doe ik bij deze.

Indien gewenst, zou ik vlak voor het oplaten van de ballon contact met jullie op kunnen
nemen, zodat jullie daadwerkelijk weten waar en wanneer de ballon opgelaten geworden
word.

Ik weet dat nu namelijk nog niet precies. Ik hoop het ergens deze winter te gaan doen, op een
heldere dag. De ballon zal opgelaten worden in het centrum van Epe.

Graag hoor ik of jullie nog behoefte hebben aan verdere informatie.

De website van mijn project: http://www.spacehd.nl legt duidelijk mijn bedoelingen uit.

Met vriendelijke groeten,

Remco Tjeerdsma

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 LS.

Voor zover mijn kennis van de wet strekt is het oplaten van weerballonnen in het
Nederlandse luchtruim uitsluitend toegestaan indien het een wetenschappelijk onderzoek
betreft, voor zover ik dit verzoek kan beoordelen is er hier geen sprake van een dergelijk
onderzoek. Mocht u besluiten om voor dit verzoek een ontheffing te gaan verstrekken,
willen wij graag nog advies uitbrengen vanwege de ligging van Epe onder de CTA East.

Ik heb uw verzoek bij IVW neergelegd. Hier heb ik mijn informatie aangaande de wet
weggehaald: http://tinyurl.com/knmilink. U kunt in artikel 3, 1a terug vinden waarom ik dit
heb gedaan.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Gert Muller
Operationele Helpdesk
Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland

Beste Remco,

van LVNL OPS Helpdesk kreeg ik je email toegestuurd waarin je aankondigt een
weerballon met daaronder o.a. een camera, te willen oplaten voor een schoolproject. Je
bent blijkbaar op de hoogte van de Regeling kabelvliegers en kleine ballons. Die regeling
bevat de voorschriften voor het oplaten van o a speelgoed- en wensballonnen en ook
weerballonnen. Weerballonnen mogen (volgens deze regeling en Annex 2 bij het
internationaal verdrag voor de internationale luchtvaart) alleen worden opgelaten voor
wetenschappelijke doeleinden. Je schoolproject lijkt daaraan niet te voldoen. Dat roept
ook vragen op over het (kunnen) voldoen aan de gebruiksvoorschriften en het daarmee
samenhangende risico voor de verkeersluchtvaart en militaire luchtvaart.

Het is mogelijk (de luchtvaartministers: van Infrastructuur en Milieu / Defensie) ontheffing

te vragen via aviation-approvals@ivw.nl. Voor het verkrijgen hiervan moet o.a. duidelijk
zijn dat aan de voorschriften wordt voldaan.

met vriendelijke groet,

Gert Kruiswijk
senior adviseur luchtruim

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 Beste Gert,

Bedankt voor uw mail. Met alle respect, maar een profielwerstuk (wat spaceHD is), is wel degelijk
een wetenschappelijk project. Het is juist de bedoeling van een profielwerkstuk om op
wetenschappelijke basis onderzoek te doen. Dat doe ik door middel van de beelden die in de
lucht geschoten geworden worden.
Daarnaast ben ik niet de eerste persoon in Nederland die dit uitvoert. Zeker de 3e, ook de vorige
2 keer waren voor een schoolproject zoals dat van mij nu ook is.
Ook de LVNL OPS Helpdesk ziet dit in, en heeft me inmiddels de volgende mail gestuurd:
“Bedankt voor het informeren op voorhand. Als je daadwerkelijk de ballon gaat oplaten zou je
ons dan een dag van te voren willen informeren over de locatie en het tijdstip. Dan kunnen wij
deze informatie indien nodig naar de desbetreffende verkeersleider doorspelen zodat die ook op
de hoogte is.”
Natuurlijk voldoet de ballon aan al de gestelde eisen in de wet Regeling kabelvliegers en kleine
ballons (diameter max. 2 meter en gewicht max. 3 meter, daarnaast uitgerust met parachute).
Ik neem aan dat het dus geen probleem is, als ik, mits ik de luchtverkeersleiding tijdig informeer,
de ballon op laat.

Met vriendelijke groeten,

Remco Tjeerdsma

Beste Remco,

Leuk geprobeerd ! Dat er meer mensen door het rode licht reden, is geen excuus.....
Graag zie ik eerst dat wetenschappelijke onderzoek beschreven.

Wat ga je wetenschappelijk onderzoeken, wat zijn precies je onderzoeksvragen en hoe ga je

wetenschappelijk en verantwoord te werk om het goede antwoord te vinden ?
Bovendien, wat doe je om de risico's van het lanceren van de ballon en het weer neerkomen
van de camera acceptabel te maken ? Heb je die risico's in kaart gebracht en voldoende
(mitigerende) maatregelen genomen (of voorbereid)?
Hoe heb je je wettelijke aansprakelijkheid geregeld ?

Succes !
Gert Kruiswijk

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 Beste Mnr. Kruiswijk,

Bedankt voor uw reactie. Uw vergelijking met het rode licht begrijp ik niet helemaal.
De persoon waar ik op doelde (http://www.hollandshoogte.nl – tab ‘Legal’) heeft immers ook netjes
contact opgenomen met het IVW, deze reageerde destijds met een akkoord, mits voldaan werd aan
de wet Regeling kabelvliegers en kleine ballons. Vanzelfsprekend uiteraard. Er wordt mijn inziens dus
een wettelijk legale actie ondernomen, en geen illegale, waar u op doelt met het rode licht.

Wat betreft uw verzoek om aan te tonen dat mijn project wetenschappelijk onderbouwt is, stuur ik u
bij deze mijn voorbereiding en toelichting voor mijn profielwerkstuk toe. U vindt dit in de bijlage.

Om de risico’s bij het neerkomen van de ballon te verminderen, is er een grote parachute aan de
lading bevestigd, waardoor de ballon slechts zeer langzaam naar beneden zal komen. Daarnaast geeft
de lading een luid geluidssignaal af, én is deze volledig met zacht materiaal bedekt.
Wat betreft het oplaten van de ballon: Dit gebeurt op een uitgestrekt sportveld, daarnaast wordt er
contact opgenomen met de LVNL om deze op de hoogte te stellen van mijn project. Meer informatie
over risico’s en maatregelen tegen de risico’s vind u ook in het bijgevoegde document.

Ik hoop dat ik hiermee duidelijk heb gemaakt, dat ik zo veel mogelijk voorbereidingen getroffen heb
om de risico’s van mijn project zo klein mogelijk te houden en dat mijn project wetenschappelijk is.

Met vriendelijke groeten en bedankt voor uw hulp,

Remco Tjeerdsma

Beste Remco,

De regels voor het oplaten van ballonnen die groter zijn dan 75 cm zijn inderdaad ook doorgegeven
aan 'hollandshoogte':
Het oplaten van grotere ballonnen, zoals een weerballon, is dus verboden, behalve als het om
wetenschappelijk onderzoek gaat.
Het niveau van dat wetenschappelijk onderzoek staat er niet bij. Je toelichting op je voorbereiding van
je profielwerkstuk ga ik dus verder niet beoordelen. Ik veronderstel dat je nog veel moet uitwerken en
moet aangeven (voor je docenten) hoe je de goede vragen stelt en op een kwalitatief goede manier
aan de antwoorden op je vragen komt.
Voor alle duidelijkheid: het informeren van LVNL vrijwaart je niet van je verantwoordelijkheid om vrij
te blijven van luchtverkeer. Je handelt echter naar mijn inziens verder wel volgens de wet.

met vriendelijke groet,

Gert Kruiswijk
senior adviseur luchtruim

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 After I got this green light from the IVW, and the green light from
mr. van der Woude concerning the fact that there were no
insurances available, I had to inform the airports. The law states
that only airports in a radius of 3 kilometres around the
launching area had to be informed, but just to be on the safe
side, I decided to inform all the airports which were closer than
100 kilometres near Epe. The air navigators reacted very
positively, wishing me good luck with my project.

Beste Remco,

Dank voor de informatie. Met wie van IVW heb je contact gehad en heb je nog
voorwaarden meegekregen. Is er b.v. een veiligheids analyse gemaakt. Zo ja, zou je
ons die willen mailen. Heb je nog aanvullende informatie omtrent de ballon en
camera (b.v. gewicht)? Wat is de impact op overvliegend verkeer? Moeten we nog
ergens rekening mee houden.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Onne Klevering
Operationele Helpdesk
Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland

Dank voor je bericht Remco,

We hebben dan geen activiteiten dus geen probleem.

Succes met je interessante project

Met vriendelijke groet

Ben van der Klein

havenmeester Terlet
Pferdemaate 18
48465 Schüttorf
BRD

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6.1 Choosing the right date

The right date for my project had to be decided. The best day to launch a weather balloon is a day at which the
wind speeds are as low as possible and the sky is clear. Determining the wind speeds is more difficult than I
thought it would be in the beginning since the wind speeds that are interesting for me, are the wind speeds at a
height of 10 kilometre. At that height, the jet stream is located. The jet stream is a large scale wind current,
which determines where the high- and low-pressure area’s float to. Wind speeds can easily reach 200 km/h
here, so it was very important that the wind speeds would be as low as possible. Luckily, someone from
England programmed a website, which I adjusted a little bit in order to work for my project. Using this
website17 I could predict where the balloon would land on certain dates. This worked very well, and I ended up
checking on this website every day to see which days would be possibilities.

Of course, the wind isn’t the complete story. Rain and Clouds are things I had to prevent too. I used the
database of the KNMI to determine the best day to launch my balloon:

As you can see, the best date ended up to be the 9th of February. It would be sunny in the morning and
afternoon, and this was the same in Germany. The place where the balloon was predicted to be landing.

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6.2 Impression of the launch

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7.1 Log

I kept a short log of all the events that occurred on the 9th of February. An overview:

Time Event

06:30 Getting out of bed

06:45 Testing the cameras.
06:50 Checking if everything is there
07:45 Picking up Arjan, a friend who joins us in our ‘Balloon-chasing’
07:55 Arriving at school.
08:00 Preparing launch area: lay down blanket, place all items on blanket. Set up gas cylinder.
08:05 First press arrives

08:10 Two other press representatives arrive

08:30 Closing the payload box: Camera’s taking pictures now!
08:55 Filling the balloon with Helium

09:00 Releasing the balloon. Launch successful!

09:15 Departing towards Germany in the car
10:00 Crossing German border
11:05 Arriving in Germany, Bünde and stopping for a coffee.

13:08 Waiting at predicted lading area.

13:45 Receiving first (faulty) sms from tracker (Time of landing)
13:53 Receiving first correct sms from tracker, with coördinates!

16:08 Retrieval of payload!

Arriving at typical german Gästehaus, to eat something and view the pictures
16:30
from project SpaceHD on a laptop.

22:00 Arriving back home after a fantastic day.

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7.2 Location

As can be seen in the log, I received the sms with the correct coordinates at 13:53. This is the exact text I
received:

Lat: 51.474007 long: 010.756464 speed: 000.0

km/h T:09/02/11 13:53 Bat: 53%

We all were very excited when we received this SMS, but first had to convert the coordinates from
Decimal to Sexagesimal ones. Here's How:

The whole units of degrees will remain the same (i.e. in 010.756° longitude, start with 10°).
Multiply the decimal by 60 (i.e. 0.756 * 60 = 45,360).
The whole number becomes the minutes (45').
Take the remaining decimal and multiply by 60. (I.e. 0.360 * 60 = 21.6).
The resulting number becomes the seconds (21.6"). Seconds can remain as a decimal.
Take your three sets of numbers and put them together, using the symbols for degrees (°), minutes (‘),
and seconds (") (i.e. 10°45'21.6" longitude)

Source18

These numbers could be entered in the navigation system of the car. It then pointed us to the east of
Germany. This was the exact location (within ±10 meters) of the Payload:

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7.3 State of SpaceHD

The state of the Payload when we found it was excellent. The payload fell in the countryside. It fell on a huge
meadow, just behind a hill. I suppose nobody would have ever found it, except the farmer farming is land.

As said, the state of the payload was surprisingly good. The box looked just the way it looked like when we
launched it. When we had a closer look, we could hear the camera’s still clicking. Both of them were still taking
pictures when I found the payload. When opening the box, I felt something surprising again: The box felt warm.
Very warm. Apparently, the warmth generated by the devices was kept inside the box very well. My ‘channel
idea’ had worked good: All devices had a nice warm temperature of say ±30 degrees when I found the box.

The GoPro Hero HD sadly wasn´t filming anymore when I found the box. The LED on the device was still burning
though. After a bit of research, I found out that the space on the SD-card was full. 32 Gigabytes of video! The
battery/solution (with the backup battery) had worked well: The camera was still on when we found it.

Another noteworthy thing to mention is the fact that the entire meteorological balloon was still attached to the
parachute, although it turned into some kind of spaghetti. This is against expectance: The balloon should have
exploded in the stratosphere, and by doing so, it should have detached from the parachute. It didn’t, and I
think this has had some negative impact on the working of the parachute, since the balloon is quite heavy, and
it was attached to the top of the parachute. Everything went ok, though.

SpaceHD’s payload was in such a good state, it could have been launched immediately again!

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8.1 Images

Over 4000 images have been taken by the two Canon camera’s with which SpaceHD was equipped.
It is a massive amount, and this alone is already quite an achievement. The pictures are stunning. I’ve made a
(very) small selection of pictures that I liked. I’ve uploaded all pictures to the official SpaceHD website. 19

The two camera’s in ‘SpaceHD’ both pointed to another direction. One pointed down, creating some kind of
‘Google Earth’ pictures whilst the other made beautiful pictures from the side of the payload box. This gives a
good idea of the height which the payload reached.

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8.2 Video

Unfortunately, I cannot show video on paper. The video is the most exciting part of the entire project. 5 Hours
of full HD video have been shot by the GoPro Hero HD. The video shows the entire route of the balloon, except
the last 5 minutes (because then, sadly enough, the memory card was full). 5 Hours of Full HD video will never
fit on a DVD. I’ve made several edits of the movie. One 10-minute version, which I have uploaded to YouTube20.
A 2-hour version (which is not in Full HD) which can be burned on a DVD and a 4-hour version (which is in Full
HD) which can be burned on a Blu-Ray.

The 2-hour version of the movie can be found in the envelope reading “Attachment”.

8.3 Temperature Measurements

At the last moment, just a few days before launching the balloon, I thought of adding a temperature sensor.
Mrs. Winterwerp supported this idea, and I therefore was able to buy a sensor. I attached the sensor to the
outer body of the payload box. At the side. These are the results which the sensor has retrieved:

The sensor measured the temperature every 10 seconds. The results are as expected. A short comment:

1. At 09:00, the balloon was released. You can see that the temperature rises a little. This is because the
balloon got loose from the ground. It’s colder at ground-level than a little higher in the air. This
phenomenon is known as ‘ground frost’.
2. At 09:30, the balloon gets to a point at which it gets colder as you get higher.
3. At 10:45, the balloon reaches another turning point: The tropopause. As soon as you pass through here, the
trend reverses: The higher you get, the warmer it gets (because you come closer to the sun, and the wind
has less influence).
4. At 12:30, the balloon reaches its highest point. Temperature raised to 25 degrees up there.
5. Between 12:30 and 14:00, the payload descends. The minimum temperature measured equals -45 degrees
Celcius. This lowest point is in the tropopause again.

Please note: The temperatures recorded by the sensor are probably 5/10 degrees to high, because of the sun.
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8.4 Height reached & Kilometres travelled

The payload was not equipped with an altimeter. The altitude has therefore not been measured. The reason for
this is that the devices that are capable of measuring height often stop at 10-20 kilometres. The ones that
support higher altitudes are far too expensive.

It is however possible to determine the height, because of a specification which the manufacturer of the
balloon gave me: The manufacturer, Totex, states that the balloon rises at a constant speed. Using the
temperature graph, or the data from the photos, we can determine that the total ascend time has been 3½
hours. 3½ hours equals 12600 seconds. The ascend speed has approximately 2.9 meter per second. (Source 14).
12600*2.9= 36540 meter.

The distance travelled equals 340 kilometres as the crow flies. However, the balloon hasn’t travelled in a
straight line. The estimated distance travelled therefore is 350 – 400 kilometres.

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9.1 Newspapers
27-11-2010 – De Stentor

08-02-2011 – De Stentor

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 08-02-2011 – De Schaapskooi

15-02-2011 – Veluws Nieuws

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 10-02-2011 – De Stentor

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 15-02-2011 – De Schaapskooi

11-02-2011 – De Stentor

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 25-02-2011 – RSG NOViteiten

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9.2 Radio & TV

On Saturday 29th of January, I was interviewed by Radio 794. They heard about my project and were
very interested in what I was doing, and how I was going to launch my balloon. The interview took
place at school. You can listen to the interview at the official website of SpaceHD 21.
29-01-2011 – Radio 794

On Friday, the 11th of February, I was very surprised! The editorial office from ‘Hart van Nederland’,
which is a television show from SBS6, watched by nearly 1 million people every day called the school
and asked for me. Just a few hours later, they were in Epe to record an interview with me about
SpaceHD. They also interviewed my teacher, mrs. Winterwerp! That evening, the interview was
broadcasted at 19.00. The interview can be seen at the website from Hart van Nederland20.

11-02-2011 – Hart van Nederland

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 Bert Klaver
Wat een super leuk idee! Ik volg je!
groet, Bert Klaver, docent afdeling groen
- SpaceHD.nl
Wim
Heel veel succes! Hopelijk word er nu
meer aandacht aan besteed. We wachten
op de mooie beelden! – SpaceHD.nl
Ap
Hopelijk horen we nog waar de ballon
geland is. Ik ben daar erg benieuwd
naar, en om te kijken of de voorspelling
dat hij in Duitsland terecht zou komen
ook uit komt. Gefeliciteerd met de
goede start, Prachtig. – Epenaren.nl
Isabelle
Wat een mooie foto's! Zijn er ergens nog meer
te bezichtigen? - Onweer-online.nl
`Klapper`
Vet gedaan hoor! Laat alleen maar zien dat je
niet alleen dure satellieten nodig hebt !!!-
Onweer-online.nl
´Onweeer´
Haha! Ontzettend leuk onderwerp! Ik ben nu
ook bezig met het profielwerkstuk (doe het
over de luchtvaart) - Onweer-online.nl
´Weerfanaat´
Echt mooi gedaan! Schitterende beelden en
een leuk project is dit. Als jij geen 10 krijgt
voor je werkstuk...- Onweer-online.nl
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
Bj Nijhuis
Grandiooos Gefeliciteerd met het
resultaat en de uitzending op SBS!
– SpaceHD.nl
Cathelijne Pape
Wat een spannend, maar vooral origineel
idee! Ik hoop dat je genoeg sponsoren
krijgt om dit idee ook uit te kunnen
voeren. Misschien helpt het als we nog
eens kritisch naar je homepage kijken
(spelfouten!, ha, ha). Succes! – SpaceHD.nl
Jeanne Paeshuysen
Lieve Remco
Dat ik als 91 jarige nog mee mag maken
dat mijn achterkleinkind zo’n project
heeft uitgevoerd is toch wel heel speciaal.
Proficiat Remco
Van je overgrootoma – Epenaren.nl
Leo & Iet Horst
Hoi Remco! Gefeliciteerd met de
geslaagde lancering en veilige terugkeer
van jouw satelliet (ballon). Dit mag je
gerust als een geweldig resultaat en
ervaring beschouwen. We hebben genoten
van je verslag van die dag en ook van het
filmpje, hoe je samen met je pa een en
ander gefabriceerd hebt. We zullen op je
site nog wel verder kijken. Veel succes
met je verdere studie gewenst. Iet en Leo
Horst.– Per Email
Jan
Machtig stukje werk Remco proficiat!!!
En weet je al een richtprijs van de DVD....´k
heb wel interesse! gr. Jan- Onweer-online.nl
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 ´Shadow112´
Heel knap, maar wat ik mij altijd afvraag bij dit
soort experimenten...Hoe weet je zeker dat dit
geen gevaar oplevert voor de luchtvaart? Als
een vogel e.d in de motor al een vliegtuig kan
laten neerstorten, wat zijn dan de gevolgen
met veel harder materiaal? Lijkt mij best link
hoor! - Onweer-online.nl
-Even later-
Otto
Wat een gaaf onderwerp voor een
profielwerkstuk! Heb je al nagedacht over de
voeding van het geheel? Bij de lage
temperatuur (op die grote hoogte) zal de
batterij van de camera een stuk minder lang
mee gaan. Is dat een probleem of ga je de
boel goed isoleren zodat de temperatuur niet
te veel daalt? – Tweakers.net

Wist niet dat het bij wet allemaal geregeld is en

dat het gewoon mag!
*Rent naar winkel*- Onweer-online.nl
Niels
Ik zag dat het project geslaagd is.
Gefeliciteerd met het mooie resultaat.
Ik zie dat je heel veel foto's op jouw website
hebt gezet! Mooi! – Tweakers.net
Jacomien Heeres
Hoi Remco,
Ik had de uitzending op TV gemist maar heb je
ballon inmiddels op internet zien vliegen!
Geweldig dat het allemaal zo goed is gelukt.
Christiaan Hoogers
Hallo Remco,
Knap stukje werk hoor!! Bij oma heb ik de
Mijn complimenten hoor, super verhalen
foto’s gezien. Prachtige opnamen. En van haar
gehoord vandaag op de zaak. Ben benieuwd
ook begrepen dat je vandaag de presentatie
naar de resultaten.
van je werkstuk doet op school.
Ben je er financieel nog uitgekomen? Ik wil
Als je dit vooraf nog leest dan succes gewenst!
graag ook nog 20 euro sponsoren, vind het
We horen wel weer hoe het afloopt. Maar het
zo'n leuk project. Op welke rekening kan ik
zal vast goed gaan.
het overmaken?
Succes nog,
Groetjes voor jullie allemaal van ons allemaal,
Groeten,
Jacomien – Per Email Christiaan – Per Email

Gerben Horst
Beste Remco,

Excuses dat het overmaken van mijn donatie even op zich heeft laten wachten. Inmiddels heb ik 30
euro op je rekening gestort. Vermelding op de website met logo etc. is voor mij als particulier niet
interessant. :-) Alleen mijn naam op de donateurslijst is prima.

Het gaat mij er om dat ik graag je profielwerkstuk/project ondersteun. Ik zou graag zien dat meer
leerlingen met dergelijke creatieve en innovatieve profielwerkstukken/projecten aan de slag gaan in het
middelbaar onderwijs. Dat is goed voor het imago van het onderwijs! Bovendien zet je hiermee mijn
oude woonplaats en de 'RSG' positief op de kaart. Dus dat moet ik wel ondersteunen.

Ik ben in het dagelijks leven beleidsmedewerker bij CNV Onderwijs, een vakbond voor
onderwijspersoneel. Daar adviseer ik het bestuur over onderwijsinhoudelijk beleid. Bijvoorbeeld als het
gaat om het niveau van het middelbaar onderwijs en het wel of niet voldoende aandacht geven aan
exacte vakken op school. Ik zal jouw project in de toekomst mogelijk als positief voorbeeld gebruiken in
gesprekken bij ons intern en elders (bijvoorbeeld op het Ministerie van OCW).

Ik wens je enorm veel succes met het vervolg van je innovatieve project, en ik blijf graag op de hoogte.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Gerben Horst– Per Email

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Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
Nr. Source

1 Scientific Sales: http://www.scientificsales.com

2 Random Solutions: http://www.randomsolutions.co.uk

3 Canon Hack Development Kit: http://chdk.wikia.com

4 GoPro Hero HD: http://gopro.com/

5 GPS-tracker/Chinavasion.com: http://tinyurl.com/SpaceHD1

6 Temperature-sensor: http://tinyurl.com/SpaceHD2

7 Energizer L92 batteries: http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/l92.pdf

8 A-Solar Back-up Battery: http://a-solar.eu/NL/Solar_chargers

9 Definition of payload: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/payload

10 Building Payload box – Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpLHclL_s5s

11 Totex Balloon Data: http://wiki.ukhas.org.uk/guides:balloon_data

12 Binas Tabel 12 – Dichtheid van gassen

13 Wikipedia – Lifting Gas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lifting_gas

14 Wikipedia – Density of Air: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_of_air

15 Excel sheet from balloon-retailer: http://tinyurl.com/SpaceHD3

16 Formula for air pressure/altitude: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-altitude-pressure-d-462.html

17 Software for predicting landing area: http://www.habhub.org

18 Converting GPS coordinates: http://geography.about.com/library/howto/htdegrees.htm

19 SpaceHD Photo’s: http://www.remcowebsites.nl/SpaceHD/?page_id=805

20 SpaceHD in “Hart van Nederland”: http://tinyurl.com/SpaceHD4

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Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma
 I would like to use this last page of my essay to thank all the people that helped me with my project.
Without them, it would not have been possible to make it all happen.

I have had a lot of fun in doing this research project, and I have learned a lot from it. It was an experience
I will probably never forget.

In the beginning, I have told you, as the reader of this essay, that I created a website in order to get
publicity for my project. That was not the only purpose of the website. The website now contains a lot of
information, essay’s, reviews, howto’s and more. It also contains the ’10-minute-edit’ of the film shot,
and all the pictures. I invite you to take a look at that as well. The website can be reached at:

http://www.spacehd.nl

65 | P a g e
Research-project
SpaceHD 2011
Remco Tjeerdsma