The purpose of the high altitude balloon project was simply to take a camera to the edge of space and bring pictures of the journey back to earth. This ended up being a massive project that challenged me on many levels. At various points in the project I was designing circuit boards, sizing parachutes for different weights, working with amateur radio, designing an insulated enclosure, hacking digital cameras, figuring out how to fill a weather balloon with helium, and chasing a balloon in the sky while cruising down the highway. Check out the following pages to see this project from inspiration to the skies (or click here to view all related posts).
Inspiration
About a year ago I saw a post on Sparkfun about high altitude ballooning that really caught my attention. Basically…
Supplies
The first thing I dove into when starting this project was the electronics, but the first thing I’ll discuss is…
Electronics
The physical components of a high altitude balloon are fairly simple. The balloon lifts, the parachute brakes, and the capsule…
Hardware Modules
The electronic components on my high altitude balloon work together to gather, store and transmit various types of data from…
Camera
I originally heard about hacking Canon digital cameras before I even knew what a high altitude balloon was. So when…
Ham License
I just received my official amateur radio license in the mail from the FCC. I took the Technician Class license…
Helium Tank Hose
A critical part of launching a high altitude balloon is obviously getting the helium out of the tank and into…
Tracking Equipment
The tracking equipment for a high altitude balloon using the amateur radio frequencies is fairly straightforward. Most of the equipment…
Tracking Test
I took the high altitude balloon tracking system out for a test drive in my truck. The intent was to…
SUFO-1 Flight Recap
SUFO-1 successfully completed its flight to near space and back on 8/20/2011. A lot of work went into this flight…
SUFO-2 Flight Recap
SUFO-2 successfully completed its flight to near space and back on 9/14/2013 and broke my goal altitude of 100,000 ft…
