Crashed weather balloon’s payload found safe

The equipment from a weather balloon launched by Poway organization has been found a week after it crashed in the San Bernardino mountains, according to a Poway man who organized the search.

Bobby Russell, founder of the nonprofit “Quest for Stars,” said Sunday that he was appreciative of help from the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue team for finding the payload, which contained tracking and photo systems.

The balloon, with its technological devices, was launched on Aug. 6 from Warner Springs.

The GPS, cameras and other equipment were found Friday, Aug. 13, not only intact, but downloaded images later revealed a spectacular view from space, from as high as 100,000 feet from Earth, Russell said.

During the search, “My fingernails were down to the nub wondering if we would find the payload,” Russell added.

The equipment recorded the crash landing at 1:36 p.m., after the morning launch.

“We knew the general area (where it landed), but didn’t know how to retrieve it,” he said.”

At first, Russell took it upon himself to find the payload, but after soles of his hiking boots ripped open, he knew the task was too much for an amateur.

With temperatures surpassing 100 degrees, along with the mountainous conditions, the tedious task of finding the equipment was ultimately handed off to those more qualified, Russell said.

“The rescue team, they’re our heroes,” he said. “They kept thanking us for the chance to recover the payload, but we were in awe of what they did for us.”

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department was also supportive of the search effort, Russell added.

Russell, a pilot with a great fascination for space, recently established the nonprofit “Quest for Stars” to help inspire kids about science and space, he said.

Establishing that program prompted him to attempt a trial launch — all in the name of science, he said.

In the months ahead, he hopes that his nonprofit will help to fund similar launch programs at Poway Unified schools.

Teacher Bob Whitney at Westview High School said that he is preparing curriculum for an environmental science program that will include how to launch a weather balloon.

He was contacted by Russell and the idea seemed both fascinating and educational, something that would be beneficial to students, Whitney said.

“We wouldn’t be able to begin until October, but I’m looking forward to it,” he added. “I’m always asking how science could be more meaningful to students.”

“It’s exciting,” Whitney said. “I’d love to see how we could coordinate such a project with students on the East Coast.”

For his environmental science students, the launch would fit into the unit on the basic structure of atmosphere, he said.

“Students would learn where the ozone is most concentrated and other data,” he said.

For more information on the program, visit www.questforstars.com