On Saturday 2/22/2014, we launched NSL-21 as another proof-of-concept flight. Similar to NSL-19, we used the blue box and a 600g H2 cell to test some ideas in a night flight. The intention was a sunset launch followed by a dark night flight in clear skies over central NC. Due to strange weather forecasts, this ended up being a last minute event.
The flight went VERY long and was a nail biter. It finally came down less than three miles from saltwater! At a few hundred feet it appeared to be headed for a large field, but at the last second it decided to change course 180 degrees and land in a swamp.
Test for this flight include:
- Mod of 808 camera for low light (remove IR filter and load special code).
- Test of Mobius (next generation 808 camera) with low light settings.
- Test RF shielding around cameras. Mobius is known to cause GPS interference.
- Test effect of bottom-hung chute on ascent rates and payload stability.
- Check out our new H2 supply, fill measurements, and viability of two launches per $25 tank.
and finally… - Test of waders for swamp recovery 🙂
Launch prep and launch was great. We had a nice comfortable picnic table to set up on at a park in Siler City.
The Mobius camera was set to low light (6 hours of video recorded):
The 808 camera without its IR filter (9 hours of video recorded. Filled 32GB card):
Comparison of projected flight (no under-hung chute) with actual:
