The 2016 Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Elijah High Altitude Balloon Launch Team was comprised of students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, UW-Fox Valley, and Carthage College. This year, a majority of the students involved were discovering the balloon launch experience for the first time. The 2016 Elijah Balloon Launch Team held a meeting for the new members to learn how all of the equipment worked through a practice run using the tools in a trial. The flight location was based on launch predictions ran in the week leading up to the launch. The balloon was launched from Clinton, Wisconsin, and landed near Darien, WI. This launch did not follow the launch prediction as accurately as expected, but the payload was recovered in safely and in good condition and launch reached a peak altitude of 31,021m, which was above our goal of 30,480m. Therefore, the launch was deemed successful.

The 2017 WSGC Elijah High-Altitude Balloon Payload Fellowship focused on three different topics for high altitude research: Modular Payload Design, Balloon Dynamics, and Energy Harvesting. A modular payload system was created using advanced manufacturing methods, which improved assembly and field operation. Minor structural fracturing was observed upon recovery. All instrumentation recovered were functioning. Vertical flight dynamics of a highaltitude balloon were studied to create a model that was compared against experimental data. Predictions did not accurately replicate GPS altitude data, possibly due to incorrect internalballoon pressure readings and underlying assumptions. Habitability of high-altitude environments were explored by monitoring insect analog in pressurized environment. A slow pressure leak induced insects into a comatose state. Radiation was detected visually with camera. Investigated energy generation from balloon kinematics. Flight data not obtained but flight simulation data produced average voltage = 0.0039 V and total energy = 245.13 J.

The 2017 Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Elijah High-Altitude Balloon Launch Team was comprised of one student from Lawrence University, two students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and one student from the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley. This year, three members of the team had experience with high altitude balloon launches due to previous participation on either the Elijah Payload or Launch Team, or both. A training session was hosted by Dr. Farrow to familiarize or refresh the team with the physical setup of a launch train as well as how to run track predictions and how to read the jet stream charts. Launches were planned and carried out for the Elijah High-Altitude Balloon Payload Team. This launch was successful, reaching a peak altitude of over 35 km above mean sea level.