University of Southern Indiana\u27s Solar Eclipse Experience

The University of Southern Indiana Eclipse Ballooning team\u27s experience from May 2016 to August 2017 is comprehensively reviewed. Experience gained during four rehearsal balloon flights is covered, including the need to coordinate with a pre-Senior Design class assisting in three of the flights. Challenges encountered were: learning ballooning techniques, reconfiguring the pod stack, adding new hardware, like a grounding rod and 3D printed standoff, losing tracking visibility due to server crashes at the Borealis hub, and making quick software turnarounds. The students found the networking afforded by the entire experience to be one of the highlights of the project