Edge of Space Sciences (EOSS) has scheduled its EOSS-410/411 Colorado Space Grant fall flight for Saturday, November 14, from Deer Trail, with Sunday, November 15 listed as the alternate launch date. The mission plans to fly either two 3,000-gram balloons or three 1,500-gram balloons carrying student payloads from participating Colorado schools. KØNKK is named as flight coordinator.
The operation will offer several ways for amateur operators to follow and support the mission. EOSS plans a 7 p.m. Mountain Time preflight net on the preceding night through the Fun Machine linked system, the EchoLink *CANONCTY* conference, and TGIF DMR network node 1997 on talkgroup 815. The notice also lists Denver-area repeater options and 146.940 MHz as a backup preflight channel if the RMHAM machine is unavailable.
On flight day, EOSS lists 446.050 MHz simplex at the launch site, with 449.450 MHz on an RMRL repeater for tracking and recovery. Field simplex channels are assigned at 446.100, 446.150 and 446.200 MHz for the balloons, plus 446.275 MHz for car-to-car traffic. Rocky Mountain Wide DMR talkgroup 700 and Central Colorado Regional Network talkgroup 720 may also be used, at the RF coordinator’s direction. EOSS says 146.550 MHz is a legacy channel that is generally avoided because of desense and interference with 2-meter APRS packets; it also publishes several 2-meter direction-finding frequencies. The organization will provide live tracking at its tracking site.
For Arkansas Valley operators, the published plan is a useful example of a multi-mode Colorado flight operation and gives prospective listeners time to program the appropriate receive channels. See the official EOSS flight notice for the current operational details and any updates.
Source: Edge of Space Sciences →
Curated for Arkansas Valley Radio Club.