I tried to get the connector for the radio module on Monday but Marvac didn't have it so they placed an order for it. The order came in today but I didn't have time to pick it up before they closed because of school stuff, so I won't be able to get to work on that until tomorrow. The interface to the radio seems simple, so it shouldn't take me to long to get it up and running.
We may and may not launch from the black rock desert. I am now leaning towards a closer launch site, especially considering the large number of people that have expressed an interest in attending the launch. For legal stuff on launching a balloon see FAA Title 14 Part 101(http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=14:2.0.1.3.15&idno=14). We have designed our balloon so that according to 101.1(Applicability) we only have to worry about the 101.7(Hazardous Operations). As such we can legally launch pretty much anywhere that isn't populated. That being said, very rugged terrain could make recovery difficult and our payload would likely be destroyed by a water landing, so we would favor a dry and flat area with little vegetation. Prior to launch we will get an approximate landing position using the University of Wyoming's balloon trajectory forecast tool (http://weather.uwyo.edu/polar/balloon_traj.html) so that we can improve the likelihood of recovery and determine if it is a good time to launch.
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