CPCC Students to Launch NASA-Financed Weather Balloon

Central Piedmont Community College is one of four Charlotte-area community colleges where students will design weather balloons and payloads financed by NASA.

Science, technology, engineering and math students and faculty from the schools each got grants of up to $10,906 from NASA. The grants will pay for equipment such as barometric pressure and temperature sensors, cameras, radio transmitters and small computers.

In addition to CPCC, Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, Mitchell Community College in Statesville and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Salisbury and Concord got the grants.

Six-member student teams will design, test, launch and recover the balloons and their payloads. The balloons will soar 20 miles to the edge of space.

The teams will launch their balloons at 7:30 a.m. April 18 at the Iredell County Fair Grounds in Troutman.

BY BRUCE HENDERSON BHENDERSON@CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.COM 04/13/2015 4:18 PM

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