# Spring 2026 NASA ASCEND Mission Findings

Mission: KA7NSR-15 high-altitude balloon flight  
Program: Phoenix College NASA ASCEND  
Date: 2026-03-28

## Unit policy

The public site must label the source and units for every metric. APRS altitude, aligned multisensor altitude, count rate, dose-rate conversion, particulate concentration, CO2 concentration, temperature, and relative humidity are not interchangeable.

## Flight profile

The APRS/GPS track contains 168 waypoints. The parameterization workbook records the payload from launch coordinates near 32.87533, -112.04950 to recovery coordinates near 33.11883, -111.65550.

Key altitude values now published on the homepage:

| Metric | Value | Unit | Source label |
| --- | ---: | --- | --- |
| APRS burst altitude | 82,496.995512 | ft | KA7NSR-15 APRS parameterization |
| APRS burst altitude | 25,145.39 | m | same row, metric unit |
| Aligned multisensor max altitude | 83,661.518 | ft | multisensor workbook alignment |

## Count-rate profile

The count-rate workbook contains 165 data samples. The maximum row is 524 CPM, equivalent to 3.406 uSv/h in the workbook. The annotated beta/gamma plot identifies the Pfotzer-Regener marker near 63,300 ft and the burst marker near 82,497 ft.

## Particulate and atmospheric findings

The aligned multisensor set contains 737 rows. Particulate channels show these maxima:

| Channel | Maximum | Altitude reference |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| PM0.3 | 17 mg/m^3 | 10,095.1625 ft |
| PM0.5 | 15 mg/m^3 | 9,429.3125 ft and 10,095.1625 ft |
| PM1.0 | 24 mg/m^3 | 6,395.7925 ft and 9,429.3125 ft |
| PM2.5 | 19 mg/m^3 | 9,429.3125 ft and 10,095.1625 ft |
| PM5.0 | 24 mg/m^3 | 9,429.3125 ft |
| PM10 | 27 mg/m^3 | 9,429.3125 ft and 10,095.1625 ft |

The CO2 workbook maximum is 957 ppm at the aligned multisensor maximum altitude. The older chart annotation reported 939 ppm near 77,483 ft; the homepage now labels the published value as the workbook maximum and retains the older value only as a reconciliation note. Internal temperature ranges from 31 C down to -3 C, and relative humidity bottoms near 12 percent.

## Site changes connected to this document

1. `index.html` now removes unsupported homepage metrics such as generic flight count and unlabeled record altitude.
2. `index.html` publishes source-labeled Spring 2026 KPIs with exact units.
3. `css/precision-pass.css` prevents the mission snapshot cards from wrapping into misleading values such as `83.6 ft`.
4. `data/spring-2026-findings.json` now stores corrected row counts, exact altitude sources, particulate maxima, count-rate values, and CO2 reconciliation notes.
5. `js/live-feeds.js` attempts the official NASA live embed while keeping official fallback links visible.

## Live video constraint

No static website can force NASA, YouTube, a client network, or a browser privacy mode to keep an iframe available. The implemented behavior is resilient: it attempts the official embed and keeps verified NASA destinations visible at all times.