Presentation slides about the Stratofox Aerospace Tracking Team at the Space Access conference in Phoenix, Arizona on April 11, 2013. by Ian Kluft

1. Stratofox
Aerospace Tracking Team
Presented by Ian Kluft
Space Access 2013 Conference
Phoenix, Arizona
April 11, 2013

2. Stratofox Aerospace
Tracking Team
z
The goal: You launch it. We bring it back.

3. Stratofox Aerospace
Tracking Team
We help builders of high-altitude rockets and
balloons with search and recovery of their
vehicles
Stratofox provides search services either
As the whole search team
Or adding to an existing search team

4. About Stratofox
In addition to helping with the search...
Stratofox aims to assist in getting amateur, non-
profit, educational and entrepreneurial
aerospace projects off the ground
We make no secret that we're trying to get
invitations for our members to “all the cool
launches”

5. What does Stratofox stand for?
The name Stratofox stands for “stratospheric
foxhunt”
Stratosphere: layer of atmosphere 8-25 miles
Foxhunt: Ham Radio hidden-transmitter hunt games
No one can tell you where they hid it
It fell from the sky - most difficult hidden transmitter
Challenging environment for electronics
Cold, vibration
Rockets have to deal with heat too

6. Who is Stratofox?
65 members
About a dozen founding members in 2002
We have done searches for rockets at
Nevada's Black Rock Desert and balloons all
over Central California
Can happen anywhere that team members go
Members have experience in Ham Radio,
aviation, high-power rocketry, 4x4, astronomy,
search & rescue, etc.

7. Stratofox History
How we got here

8. Highlights
Recovered CSXT Space Shot 2004 at Black
Rock Desert NV, first amateur rocket to space
Range Safety & search functions for CSXT,
Paragon Labs, AeroPac at Black Rock
Recovered research balloons for Stanford
University and NASA Ames
Recovered lost payload at Black Rock NV for
Soka University of Japan
Recovered CNSP-10 balloon minutes after
landing from altitude record 136,545' flight

9. Highlights
Stratofox has the distinction of
recovering vehicles that set altitude
records for Amateur Rocketry and
Amateur Radio Ballooning
CSXT Space Shot - May 2004: 380,000'
(still holds this record)
CNSP-10 balloon - Oct 2011: 136,545'

10. CSXT Space Shot 2004
Stratofox recovers the spacecraft
Launch 5/17/2004
11:12AM
Electronics recovered by
noon next day
Altitude 72 miles/115 km
18 miles from launch pad
In mountains at 6100'

11. CSXT Space Shot 2004
Stratofox recovers the spacecraft
Radio direction finding for
secondary beacon
attached to parachute
Found it at 6100' elevation
after very strenuous hike
around noon on May 18
Stratofox group picture: Will Galloway AE6EY, Ian Kluft KO6YQ, Jeremy Cooper KE6JJJ, Sean Lynch
KG6CVV, Randy Palmer WA6LCD, Steve Palmer KA6DHU and Rob Palmer. Not shown: Diane Palmer
KC6HVP, Christian Void KF6IHU, Colleen Brennan and Jay Lawson.

12. Search for missing CSXT booster
Amazing detective story!
No signals heard from the
booster after descent -
presumed lost
In July 2004, CSXT analysis
of Stratofox audio recording
of sonic boom indicated
booster's parachute was
deployed on re-entry
Ground searches were
done in August
Early winter cut searches

13. Missing CSXT booster recovered
November 2004
Nov 10 - BLM chartered
helicopter doing survey of wild
horses finds the booster near
where we had searched
Nov 15 - BLM notifies CSXT
and Stratofox
Nov 26 – Stratofox 4x4
expedition in mud/snow
recovers the booster hours
before a snowstorm
Video is on YouTube

14. Stratofox recovers CSXT
booster
Booster lost radio transmitters on re-entry
recovered 6 months later

15. Eric Knight's
“New Race to Space” book
Published Jan 2011
Eric was CSXT Avionics
team leader
Story of CSXT's all-
volunteer space shot
Many mentions of Stratofox
Eric made enormous effort
to credit all volunteers
thenewracetospace.com

16. Black Rock Desert Expertise
Stratofox is familiar w/ topography, airspace
and safety issues of Black Rock Desert NV
We helped CSXT and Paragon meet FAA
space launch requirements in 2003-2005
UC Boulder's HySOR project found federal
launch ranges to be budget busters
Choosing Black Rock and bringing Stratofox on
board solved that problem

17. Paragon Astronautics
4 rocket launches 2003-2005
Helped with searches
Helped with range
safety to meet FAA
launch requirements
Stratofox's first find as
a team in 2003 was at
a Paragon test launch
at Black Rock

18. AeroPac To100K
3 rocket launches 2005-2006
Rocket club at Black
Rock wanted to reach
100,000' with
commercial motors
for hobbyists.
3 attempts by club.
1St stages worked.
Nd
2 stages crashed.
Goal was achieved by
members of the club,
but not by this rocket.

19. Stanford/NASA BioLaunch
8 balloons 2007-2008
NASA-funded balloon experiments
exposed DNA samples to solar radiation
Stratofox supported balloon searches
alongside Stanford students & professor
Stratofox supported with air & ground
search, communications and safety
coordination
Stanford was so confident in Stratofox
that B07E/F and B08A/B were flown in
simultaneous pairs
B07A Jan 2007 near
Some Stanford students liked the hunt Gilroy, California
and joined Stratofox

20. Stanford/NASA BioLaunch
B07C May 2007 near B07F Dec 2007 near B08A Mar 2008 near
Tracy, California Los Banos, California Merced, California

21. Soka University CanSat Search
1 missing payload 2009
AeroPac asked for
help to find Soka Univ
(Japan) payload lost
at Black Rock in 2009
Dead transmitter
Worse odds than a
needle in a haystack
Stratofox drew up 2x2
mile search area
Found it!

22. California Near Space Project
balloons 2010-present
Balloons launched from San Jose, California
Many attempts at Amateur Radio balloon
altitude record
Successful altitude record-setting flight
Oct 2011 CNSP-10 – 136,545' altitude record
Pushing the limits of what experts thought was
possible with standard/cheap latex balloons

23. CNSP-10 altitude record
Oct 23, 2011
Launched from South San Jose, CA
Record setting altitude 136,545' over Tracy, CA
Tumbling payload sent no packets during fall
Landed in backyard in Manteca, CA
CNSP and Stratofox got visual on falling
balloon payload from different locations
Stratofox got 1 APRS packet after landing
Knocked on door before resident knew about it

24. CNSP-10 altitude record
Oct 23, 2011
Stratofox crew with CNSP-10 at landing site
Manteca, California

25. CNSP-10 altitude record
Oct 23, 2011
Bay Area NBC11 studio interview with Ron & Ian

26. CNSP-11/12/13/14 launch
Dec 11, 2011
CNSP launched 4 balloons at once on Dec 11
CNSP-13 & -14 for altitude, launched before sunset
CNSP-11 & -12 as distance floater experiments
Stratofox went immediately to chase 13 & 14
11 & 12 tried to replicate Nov 2010 Utah flight
Goal was at least to get them to Colorado this time
Launched at sunset for minimal UV degradation
Not expected to last the day after sunrise

27. What about CNSP-12/13/14?
13 & 14 altitude attempts lost GPS lock
3 Stratofox vehicles chased as far as Mariposa, CA
GPS receivers froze in cold above 125,000'
We found that BeeLines transmit 109,373' upon
loss of GPS lock – unfortunate choice of error code
Stratofox verified reception from balloons still in
flight when APRS.FI showed no new data
Settled debate: night altitude attempts not feasible
12 cruised at 120,000'
landed in a tree in Freedom, Indiana

28. CNSP-11
“The little balloon that could”
Slowest to climb to altitude
Seemed at first to be a failure
“Just right” fill turned out to be key to endurance
Leveled off at 110,000', ground speed 150mph
For 2½ days!
Crossed US mainland, out to sea over Atlantic City NJ
Awesome help from Hams: Azores, Portugal, Spain
Hams changed from European APRS 144.8 to US 144.39
to forward tracking data to APRS-IS network
Burst and splashdown in Mediterranean Sea

29. CNSP-11 world records set
Amateur Radio ballooning records
First US transcontinental flight
First transatlantic flight
Duration: 57 hours, 2 minutes
Duration record re-taken by Cornell Univ in Mar 2012
Distance: 6236 miles from San Jose launch site
great circle distance, not ground track
Records maintained at arhab.org
Not absolute records – univ/govt projects have
done more at vastly greater expense

30. CNSP-11 distance/duration
record Dec 11-14, 2011
Map of CNSP-11 flight from APRS.FI

31. CNSP-11 distance/duration
record Dec 11-14
Ron Meadows K6RPT has made efforts to thank
all volunteers involved in the CNSP balloons.
This includes Hams on both sides of the Atlantic,
and the Azores Islands. He considers them part
of the California Near Space Project team.

32. Could this be done again?
CNSP was only trying to reach Colorado with
CNSP-11 and CNSP-12
It was an unintentional transatlantic crossing!
Cornell Univ re-took duration record in March,
but still failed to cross Atlantic from Upstate NY
Transatlantic flight tough even from East Coast!
CNSP tried again with CNSP-18
If it worked, this time it would be intentional.

33. CNSP-18 transatlantic attempt
Waited for long nights, good winds aloft
Long nights minimize solar degradation of latex
Winds aloft in Stratosphere, well above jet stream
Meteorologist Mark Conner N9XTN said go!
More northern route estimated this time
Launch
Usual CNSP launch site in south San Jose, CA
after sunset Sun Dec 2, 2012

34. CNSP-18 over US & Canada
Receiving direct signals gives “ground truth” to
verify Internet telemetry is catching everything
Launch site watched from San Jose until Sierras
I received packets from Mojave while balloon went
from over Sierras to Zion NP in UT
We confirmed GPS signal lock was weaker
than expected
Some recurring dropouts
Possible interference by GPS's heater
New addition to prevent GPS dying in cold nights

35. CNSP-18 over US & Canada
Level at 110,000' just like CNSP-11
Flight continued over Denver, Chicago, Maine
Out to sea over Nova Scotia
Hams in Newfoundland tracked it 400 miles out
Then nothing...
Storm over Azores: Tropical Depression 91L
Frequent lightning possible cause for concern
Unknown what Sprites do to stratospheric balloons

36. CNSP-18 over US & Canada
Imagery by California Near Space Project

37. CNSP-18 reaches Morocco
After 22 hours of no telemetry, got to Morocco
We call it the “22 hours of terror”
Landed 100mi inland, north of Taza, Morocco
Telemetry over Morocco relayed by Hams in Spain
Recovered by farmer the same morning
CNSP-18 confirmed CNSP-11 was no fluke
2nd transcontinental flight
2nd transatlantic flight
2nd place distance: 6,080.4 great circle miles
6,080.40 miles

38. CNSP-18 transatlantic success
Imagery by California Near Space Project

39. Joining Stratofox
Can you help the team?
We're always recruiting.

40. If you're interested in Stratofox
Stratofox is admittedly picky about new membership
We have to keep the group trustworthy – our clients may
be competitors of each other
We have to be trusted by all parties
There is no room for spectators in the deep desert –
everyone has to “carry their own weight” out there
Potential new members need to have a useful skill

41. Useful skills for membership
Any of these, the more the better
Primary skills Secondary skills
Private Pilot or better Astronomy
Amateur Radio license Navigation, GPS & maps
High-power rocketry cert 4x4/off-roading
Search & Rescue Electronics or Aerospace
Engineering
Emergency medical training
(WFR, EMT) Logistical planning
Got something else you think is useful? Ask!

42. How to Join Stratofox
Be ready to participate – no spectators
Have a useful skill
Amateur radio license, pilot license, high-power
rocketry, 4x4, navigation, First Aid/CPR, etc
Get referred by a Stratofox member
Participate in an event
Get voted in based on your participation
http://stratofox.org/join

43. Upcoming events
California Near Space Project balloon
usually short notice when winds aloft are good
Univ of Colorado at Boulder
HySOR suborbital sounding rocket
Black Rock Desert, Spring 2014
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Icarus III sounding rocket
Black Rock Desert, no current status
Mars Society TEMPO3 research balloon
Colorado, no current status

44. Non-profit organization
Stratofox is part of a 501(c)3 non-profit
Out-of-pocket expenses may be tax deductible
Donations are tax deductible
http://stratofox.org/

45. The end
Photo: Stratofox ground crew Pilot: Ben Woodard KG6FNK
gives the shutdown signal to Ground: Owen DeLong KB6MER
search plane pilot at AeroPac Note: ground crew giving signals to pilots
must be pilots too
To100K in September 2005