Students and faculty from several Kentucky colleges and universities are scheduled to launch a balloon into upper regions of the earth’s atmosphere Monday.Weather permitting, "Balloon-1" will be launched from the Bowling Green/Warren County Regional Airport at 11:00am Central time. Dr. Ben Malphrus from Morehead State University says the goal is for the balloon to reach an altitude of 100,000 feet."This basically is a proof of technology experiment. We’re flying a number of different sensors to help us design and fabricate the first orbital mission," Malphrus said.He says equipment aboard the balloon will take measurements and conduct experiments to help with future study of the planet’s atmosphere and climate.The mission is an initiative of Kentucky Space, a new consortium of educational institutions and the private sector that’s conducting research and development.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.