Stratosphere Made Simple          

Mission

To launch a balloon really high, hopefully to 100,000 feet, maybe higher, take some nice pictures and then have the whole package glide nicely back to the launch site and not have to drive all over the place craning our necks out the window. Oh, sure, this has been done before so we are trying a new spin on this: our goal is to do this as simply as possible with the lowest cost, simplest design and fewest moving parts as possible.

Design Considerations

Location and navigation

Communication

Thermal management

Making the balloon go up

System Components

    Balloon

    Airframe

    Electronics

Experiments

No launches of anything yet, but we've done a test of a thermal cavity and hydrogen creation.

Is This Legal?

According to FAA regulation governing unmanned balloon flights, yes. As long as the payload is under 4 lbs and we keep the tray tables in their closed and locked positions, we should be fine.

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