Emma Landis
Team lead
Phoenix College · NASA ASCEND
Fall 2026 launch team
ANSR-163/164 · ASCEND! 61/62
Eight students bringing together mechanical design, electronics and software for the next high-altitude balloon flight.
This semester’s work spans payload fabrication, flight software, atmospheric observations and onboard video, with support from faculty mentors and advisors.
Explore the Fall mission →
Garrett Nordmeyer
Mechanical
Jonathan Ponce
Mechanical
Jose Ocampo
Electrical
Preston Furulie
Electrical / Software
Rogelio Ramirez
Electrical
Tuan Vu
Mechanical
Xylina Delgado
Software
Faculty mentors
Dr. Eddie Ong
Science advisor
Ernest Villicaña “Mr. V”
Engineering mentor
Additional advisors
- Adam Fuge
- Jessica Frantz
- Maxx Mudd
- Tino Meza
Fall 2026 · Mission preparation
Preparing the payload for flight
The semester presentation brings together the team’s build and integration work ahead of the November 14 launch.
- Flight software
- Refining the code to reduce memory use, improve maintainability and integrate GPS with the onboard system.
- Mechanical design
- Developing camera mounts and printed components that fit the existing payload structure.
- Electronics
- Integrating the sensor suite and continuing development of the electronics that support atmospheric observations.
- Video and flight records
- Preparing onboard cameras for flight footage and organizing video and telemetry from earlier missions.
Documentation and inventory organization support the work across all four areas.
Open the flight tracker →2026 · Spring flight science
A high-altitude flight. An atmospheric investigation.
The Spring 2026 archive brings together the team's authored flight figures, atmospheric research presentation, radiation profile and onboard footage. The original figures—not fitted substitute curves— lead the science record.
2026 · available records
Explore this year’s flight record
- Flight figures
- Spring 2026 · published trajectory and altitude
- Data
- Source-backed flight presentation
- Media
- Four short onboard clips
Replay the recorded March 28 flight in 3D, then explore the team's authored trajectory, altitude profile and research presentation. The APRS replay uses recorded positions; it is not synchronized with the science instruments. Raw science records remain private.
Spring 2026 · Original research presentation
Atmospheric science from the latest launch
The flight report and its figures
The team reports an 82,497-ft flight maximum, an external-temperature minimum of −66.5 °C and a high-altitude CO₂ peak of 939 ppm at 77,483 ft. These values belong to the supplied Spring 2026 report, not the older fitted-altitude summary.
The presentation preserves instrument behavior and the team's annotations. Interpretation notes separate observations, source-label conflicts and proposed follow-up studies.
Explore the Spring 2026 research figures →March 28, 2026 · Recorded excerpts
Four views from the onboard camera
Watch the team-supplied launch, ascent, horizon and balloon-burst clips individually. These are short excerpts, not a complete flight recording or footage synchronized to instrument measurements. Each duration describes the clip, not the length of its flight phase.
Launch and departure
8.82 seconds. The camera clears the release team as the payload leaves the ground.
Flight-train ascent
20.50 seconds. The balloon, suspension lines and payload hardware remain in view during the climb.
Near-space horizon
8.73 seconds. Terrain and the horizon fill the onboard camera's high-altitude view.
Balloon burst
6.80 seconds. The balloon envelope bursts as the recorded ascent transitions toward descent.
Team flight report
Spring 2026 · Atmospheric research
Flight dateMar 282026
Reported flight maximum82,497 ftSpring 2026 acquired-data report
Time to burst~61 minreport narrative
External temperature minimum−66.5 °Creport narrative
Flight and science record
| Reported maximum descent | 63.6 mph · reached after 5.42 min of descent |
|---|---|
| Reported ground impact speed | 15.1 mph · not a terminal-velocity estimate |
| Reported burst acceleration | 6.2 G |
| Reported pressure minimum | 49.2 Torr |
| Pfotzer–Regener radiation marker | Approximately 63,300 ft · report marker |
| High-altitude CO₂ peak | 939 ppm at 77,483 ft · reported sensor reading |
| Lower-altitude CO₂ peak | 623 ppm at 10,879 ft · reported sensor reading |
| Descent relative humidity maximum | 72% · report attributes the rise during descent to condensation, not a recovery measurement |
Mission interfaces
Choose the published trajectory, research presentation or onboard footage. Private telemetry files are not distributed.
Team-supplied presentation evidence
Spring source collection
- Phoenix College ASCEND Spring 2026 presentation
- Spring 2026 poster and symposium abstract
- Spring 2026 launch-acquired-data report and original figures
- Team interpretations and proposed follow-up research
- Before/after balloon-burst document
- Payload functions, bill of materials, and mass records
- Data and Videos folder
Engineering workspace
Explore the payload
Inspect the hardware, compare design choices and test your own mass and energy assumptions.