SpaceHub Southeast (SHSE) is a not for profit organization based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, GA. The organization sends experiments to the upper atmosphere via high altitude weather balloon on a semi-regular basis. Most notably, the organization's

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) outreach program allows students and the general public to send PongSat experiments to the

upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes: * The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...

free of charge.

Overview & History

SpaceHub Southeast was cofounded in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2012 by Beau Martin and Meryl Mccurry with the mission to provide access to the upper atmosphere to the general public.

PongSat Program

PongSat stands for ping-pong satellite and consists of any experiment that can be contained within a ping-pong ball. Projects range from things as simple as a

marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a confectionery made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicina ...

to programmed circuit boards. Not all PongSats are scientific, some are purely artistic. The program does have restrictions: * Anything that sticks out of a PongSat must be pre-approved * No volatile chemicals * No combustion reactions etc. * May not be heavier than 3 oz. * Any device that emits a

radio signal Radio waves (formerly called Hertzian waves) are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths g ...

must be pre-approved

Partnerships

ZPM Espresso

Space Hub Southeast and ZPM Espresso partnered in 2013 to send the first whole bean

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

into space. The partnership resulted in special balloon launch carrying one pound of whole bean coffee to the upper stratosphere, which was then brewed and consumed. ZPM commented that the espresso tasted 'Gross' and lacked flavor.

The Westminster Schools

The Westminster Schools The Westminster Schools is a Kindergarten–12 private school in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, founded in 1951. History Westminster originated in 1951 as a reorganization of Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian School (NAPS), a girls' school ...

has served as the launch venue for the PongSat launches since 2012.

TinyCircuits

TinyCircuits produced the 'TinyDuino' Board, "an Arduino compatible board in an ultra compact package". Space Hub Southeast has worked with TinyCircuits in making these board available for free to select PongSat students. The Space Hub Southeast TinyDuino Scholarship provides students with the opportunity to apply for a TinyCircuits TinyDuino, free of charge.

Omnilink

Since 2013 Omnilink has provided Space Hub Southeast with an OM210™ system that they use to track the high altitude payload. The device is extremely durable and has been unaffected by the harsh environment. Space Hub Southeast has been featured on Omnilink's home page.

References

{{Reflist Space organizations