Students from Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington partnered with engineers and meteorologists from California-based WindBorne Systems, an atmospheric data and AI weather forecasting company based, to launch a weather balloon from the school’s football field Oct. 20.
The balloon went on a 13-day journey to collect real-time meteorological data —temperature, humidity, pressure and wind readings —along its flight path around the globe. As part of this initiative, students tracked the balloon’s path and analyzed the data collected.
“Getting to watch real science at our school showed me how our school’s classes and clubs let students become real scientists even while they are in high school,” said senior Catherine Ellison.
Spectators on launch day included O’Connell Head of School Jonathan Brand, Principal Frank Roque, and students from engineering and STEM classes, and Global Studies clubs. The balloon’s payload included engineering students’ signatures.
“It was amazing seeing our club’s engineering theories come to life, especially watching the balloon lift off,” said senior Kevin Colevas. “It’s interesting that they use grains of sand, that look like fluid but act as a propulsion system, to help the balloon gain altitude.”
Brian S. Quigley Jr., international government relations lead at WindBorne Systems, said he wanted students to experience a weather balloon launch and worked with his team and Melissa Pore, O’Connell’s science and engineer teacher, to organize WindBorne’s first public east coast launch.
“When a student at Bishop O’Connell watches a balloon rise from their own campus and knows it will circle the globe, collecting data for weeks, the world gets a little smaller and their future gets a lot bigger,” said Quigley. “The next generation of engineers and meteorologists may already be sitting in these classrooms, and it’s meaningful to be a part of the beginning of their journeys.”
“When students experience phenomena through the lens of real-world applications alongside scientists and engineers, they are given the rare opportunity to become a part of the experience unlike in a traditional classroom setting,” Pore said.
Students at O’Connell are working on a mission to space through a NASA grant-related project known as the CAPE-Twiggs 3U Cubesat. They will use a smaller balloon to test the data transmission and functionality of their own satellite, known as SpaceToast2. The project is expected to launch next fall.
