For the second consecutive year, a team of 9th graders successfully built and launched a high altitude balloon (HAB) as part of an after school activity to complement their STEM coursework. They launched the balloon from Orchard Farms High School on March 11. It ascended at a rate close to 128 mph, and reached a high altitude of 101, 541 feet, beating last year’s highest altitude of 100,800 feet. The balloon traveled roughly 60 miles east into Illinois and landed near Carlinville, IL.
The following students participated in the HAB project: Sam Kastor, Anouk Joubert, De’Nonna Jones, Caroline Sant, Bianca Sforza, Charlie B. Southern, Sophia Puertas, Zion Thomas, Maggie Onder, Megan Smith and Kellen von Hoven.