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Tennessee Tech’s eclipse plans include hosting students from around the country.
Tech’s chapter of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) will host a camp out at the Oakley STEM Center so students from around the country can experience the eclipse together.
The Upper Cumberland, particularly Cookeville, will experience the full force of the total solar eclipse on August 21. Cookeville will experience a full two and a half minutes of darkness.
SEDS is a non-profit organization with student chapters all over the world. In SEDS students are empowered to participate and make an impact in space exploration and development. The Tech chapter was founded in 2015 and has about 20 active members who participate in high altitude balloon launches that travel higher into the sky than commercial airplanes, University Student Rocketry Competitions and National Association of Rocketry events.
The SEDS eclipse campout is open to all students interested in space and rocketry. Participants have the option of arriving either Saturday or Sunday, with rocketry and other competitions planned throughout the weekend, along with a guest speaker, catered meals and the opportunity to participate in community events planned in Cookeville for the event.
The weekend will culminate with a viewing of the eclipse in Tech’s Tucker Stadium where guided viewing of the eclipse will climax with two minutes and 30 seconds of daytime darkness.
SEDS plans to do a high-altitude balloon launch during the total solar eclipse on August 21 to gather data and imagery of the event. The launch will be livestreamed. Information about the eclipse livestream and videos of other SEDS balloon launches can be found on the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/sedstntech.
