Amateur Experimental Rocketry Dhaka (AERD), in collaboration with the Dr. Anwarul Abedin Institute of Innovation (D2A2I) and the American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB), successfully launched their first weather balloon on Friday (12 January) at 10:30 AM at the AIUB Campus, reads a press release.
The balloon later landed smoothly just 120 kilometers from the launch site at Cumilla with all payload and equipment intact. The weather balloon is equipped with instruments to measure atmospheric conditions such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed at different altitudes.
The data collected will be invaluable for weather prediction and climate studies, in addition to providing data that will be used for rocket trajectory predictions. It will also set the tone for the possibility of frequent weather balloon launches at a cheaper cost.
“We look forward to continuing pushing the boundaries of aerospace exploration in Bangladesh together with AIUB.” said project leader and founding member, Chen Szu Heng and Shahzaib Abedin, respectively.
The AERD team will continue to take great strides towards bigger, and more advanced projects.