Pacific Star 3

It's been almost a year since the launch of Pacific Star II. The whole time I had wondered how could I up the ante; throwing together a styrofoam box with some hacked cameras felt like it wouldn't suffice to the challenge I was looking for.

In mid December, I received a call from scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy who asked if I could launch a Black Carbon experiment to test atmospheric levels of the pollutant. It was the perfect challenge I sought and together a symbiosis emerged that was able to open doors and gain access to things I normally would not be able to.

Launched from Ventura County, Pacific Star III traveled nearly 200 miles South, South-East, over the Eastern County line of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert.

Using a huge 3000g extreme cold weather sounding balloon I was able to go higher and farther than my previous attempts.

I wanted Pacific Star III to fly many months ago, but unfortunately, prevailing Santa Ana winds hampered any launch unless of course I was willing to take the chance that the payload would miraculously parachute from over 100,000 feet and land on Catalina Island off the coast of CA.

I plan and plan and plan and plan and plan and sometimes at the last moment the plans change as quickly as the wind changes directions.

After four scrubbed launches, it was a bit frustrating but anything worth doing usually is.

In the end, it's about the adventure of traveling down roads I've never been and never will travel down again while tracking the beast down and I smile to myself because I never know exactly where I'm headed. It's really all about the adventure and the challenge.

I want to thank everyone who has been supportive towards the Pacific Star series. For those of you who donated to the cause, this could not have happened without your support. Thank you so much!

Additionally I would like to thank Victor Gonzalez and
Next Limit Technologies for their support and patience. nextlimit.com/​

Cheers!

Colin Rich

For additional information on the flight go to:
pacificstarflight.com

facebook.com/​#!/​colinrich1

Music by Starfucker
myspace.com/​strfkrmusic
(Thanks to Anthony Martinez for the find)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• near space
• pacific star 2
• colin rich
• nasa
• high altitude balloon
• photography
• earth
• los angeles
• night

[kalasnykov]

amazing pictures..

[cmrich82]

@kalasnykov Thanks!!!

[Soonerball09]

amazing results

[cmrich82]

@Soonerball09 Thanks bud! It really was an improvement on the last couple of launches



[MeMyselfAndPi]

Unbelievable! The view is incredible! So much higher then your previous launches! The moving time lapse, the stop motion, the un-wiggly video, all around very well edited!

[cmrich82]

@MeMyselfAndPi Thanks! It was a bit of work but I enjoy doing it. Glad you liked it!

[charlieangels106]

 to build that thing i mean

[charlieangels106]

I want the instructions and details in order to build that must be expesive though

[CaStormChaser]

I've been looking all over for someone who launches locally!! I'm about 3 months into my build (almost finished!)...Where would you recommend launching? I'm in the Fullerton/Brea, CA area. Was thinking about Calico or Joshua Tree...Or is retrieval pretty tough there.

Thanks so much for any input, and for sharing these remarkable launch videos!

[cmrich82]

@cmaron1123 Hey Cory, glad you liked it. Tell Casey to call me

[therealvukodlac]

Nice job. Been following since I discovered the first Pacific Star launch. Keep up the great work.

[SeriouslyCoolVideos]

What a fantastic video, what a scenery! Thanks for sharing and compliments for building the balloon! it worked perfectly in what i can only assume to be pretty extreme conditions...btw, do you need to ask permission to the civil aviation authority to fly that thing? Good luck for the experiments

[davantalus]

Incredible! Thanks for taking the time to put the video (and balloon) together!

[Soonerball09]

@cmrich82 Be sure to update your website with the lab results!