Until 29 August you can sign up to take part in the stratospheric balloon launches in the fifth edition of this initiative.
Article originally published in the science and technology supplement of Heraldo de Aragón Tercer Milenio on 5 August 2021. The article can be read here.
The photograph illustrating this post is courtesy of Germán Martín.
Three sounding balloons will set course for the stratosphere and return to Earth after collecting a great deal of scientific data on their journey up to 36,000 metres in altitude. But what makes the Servet project, now in its fifth edition, unique is that it is open to the public, who design the capsules, take part in the launch and get to enjoy some very visual results: images of our planet seen from kilometres away, in an initiative that democratises access to space.
Until Sunday 29 August, the deadline is open to fill in the participation forms . After analysing the applications received, the organisers will announce the selection of participants on 6 September. That will be the time to get down to work so the capsules are ready for the launch, which will take place in October.
The plan is to launch nine capsules of up to 400 grams on three balloons. The organisers say they will try, “although it is not guaranteed, to recover the payload”. They hope to reach at least 32 km in altitude.
Weather permitting, the balloons will be launched next 30 October
Once the area from which the launch will be made has been selected (municipalities in the province of Zaragoza such as Alfamén or Alpartir were some of the areas selected in previous editions, bringing science to rural areas), on Friday 29 October all the technical preparations will take place at Etopia, Centre for Art and Technology in Zaragoza.
On the morning of Saturday 30 October the balloons will be launched from the selected town and the next day the results will be presented to the public. Participants provide the capsule and the organisation takes care of all the logistical aspects (balloons, helium, insurance, etc.) related to the launch.
In previous editions, the initiative has brought together space navigation enthusiasts, citizen scientists, ‘maker’ developers and radio amateurs who devised and built the capsules launched and made use of the Servet project’s infrastructure.
The results are published freely and at no cost
Afterwards, the data obtained are published freely and at no cost so that anyone can consult and analyse them.
The members of the Servet project are a group of people who like everything to do with astronautics, space navigation and anything that moves above 12,000 metres above sea level. They launched their first sounding balloon, #ServetI, in June 2017 and have kept working together since. Servet has the support of the Ibercivis Foundation, Etopia Centre for Art and Technology, the CESAR Laboratories at Etopia, the University of Zaragoza, the Spanish Radio Amateurs Union and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science and Innovation.