News Release
7/12/2020 For immediate release
Subjects: Business, Space, STEM Education
Contact: Lisa & Mark Burginger
Tel: (407) 489-4015
Email: info@qubitstoy.com
Web: www.QubitsToy.com and www.jpaerospace.com
Qubits Toy to fly to the edge of space.
On July 12th Qubits Toy, Inc., a STEM Product Manufacturer traveled where no other SHARK TANK STEM TOY has gone before: to the edge of space.
For this mission, (8) pieces of a Qubits Toy Building Set will traded the STEM Classroom for a balloon. The flight, called “Away 130”, was a high altitude balloon research mission. It was launched from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The vehicle was carbon fiber and foam diamond carried aloft by a single large helium-filled balloon. The balloon reached a height of over 100,000 feet, nearly twenty miles high. Away 130 will test telemetry systems for high altitude airships and platforms.
The Red White and Blue Qubits shape being flown was chosen because it is lightweight and strong. Also, the geometry is the same shape you saw when the inventor assembled it on the stage of ABC Shark Tank back in 2010. Qubits will be the first Shark Tank product to ‘touch’ outdoor interstellar space.
Included on the flight will be 300 PONG SATS. A PongSat is an experiment created by students that fit inside of a ping pong ball. These ping pong ball ‘satellites’ are flown to the edge of space by the balloon. The PongSats are then returned to the students. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to get students excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math - STEM.
The Made in the USA Qubits pieces experienced temperatures of -90F, the vacuum of the upper Stratosphere, and speeds of over 600 mph on descent. The pieces were mounted on the outside deck of the craft fully exposed to the rigors of space.
“It’s a chance for the Qubits pieces to test their durability and strength’” said John Powell, President of JP Aerospace.
JP Aerospace is a volunteer-based space program that builds and flies low-cost space systems. Photographs for the media are available at www.jpaerospace.com.
Away 130 Mission Details:
• Mission Type: Unmanned High Altitude Balloon
• Maximum altitude: 110,000 feet
• Vehicle weight 25 pounds
• Total Flight Time: Four hours
• Additional payload: Qubits Toy & 300 #STEM student experiments
• Flight systems include: Command control telemetry system, Dual GPS tracking, Live video downlink, digital still camera and environment measuring sensors.
Qubits Toy appeared on ABC Shark Tank in 2010 - Season One Finale - The Qubits Team lives and works in Hendersonville, NC where they produce this STEM Tool for schools across the USA.
The Launch via COVID
With Drone filming the Ascent, Away 130 soars into the sky on its way into the stark blackness of space.
