Chennai teenager launches helium weather balloon
Rifath had participated in a competition named ‘Young Scientist India-2015’ organised by Space Kids India
By : ashmita gupta
Update: 2015-08-24 07:01 GMT
Chennai: Fifteen-year-old Rifath Sharook’s dream to explore took him to new heights on Sunday when he launched a 1,200g helium weather balloon from a ground in Kelambakkam.
The class 12 student’s balloon soared to an altitude of 70,000 feet before landing in Koothanur, a town situated in Tiruvarur district which is 241.9 km from the launch site. Similar launches are normally associated with the meteorological department.
He had collected the data on atmospheric details and will compute and study it, which will take a day. The payload attached to the balloon was below two kilometers from it and had 15 different types of sensors, accelerometers, chemical warmers and GPS and GSM trackers. The sensors were supposed to go close to the atmosphere and collect all the data. The balloon is supposed to triple in size when it reaches almost 60,000-70,000 ft after which it would burst and land on the ground.
Rifath had participated in a competition named ‘Young Scientist India-2015’ organised by Space Kids India. His project of lifting of a space balloon won the competition. Rifath said he usually logs on to the NASA website and gets details about various projects. He came across a competition in the website named nano satellite but because he was an Indian citizen he could not participate and so he made it a point to participate in Space kidz India. “I am also a member of the U.K. high altitude society. This lifting of a weather balloon popped up in my mind. All these students helped me in lifting the balloon,” he added.
After two hours, the balloon had burst and the parachute along with the payload landed at Koothanur a town in Thiruvarur district. There was an air of excitement among Rifath and students of Hindustan University who helped him in the launch as once the space balloon was lifted; they had to keep track of it with the help of GPS and GSM trackers. They were busy checking their mobile phones and Rifath along with the students was rushing from one place to the other. After a little more than two hours their counterparts in Koothanur informed them of the balloon payload landing.
Rifath said he loved exploring things since his childhood days. When he was five years old India launched a rocket. At that time his father worked in ISRO. But the rocket had burst.
“I was playing with a paper rocket. My father asked me to not play with a paper rocket, instead make a real one. That inspired me, so from then on I had a desire to launch something near the space,” he said.
Dr Shreemathi Kesan, Director, Space Kidz India said that Rifath had come to her with this idea when he was in class nine. “From then on we started this project but we faced so many difficulties as India does not permit certain regulations like satellite phone tracking. But finally the Government understood our project and encouraged us, and today we have created a history,” she said.