Pico Balloon

Goal: Pico balloons are lightweight plastic hydrogen or helium balloons which contain a lightweight amateur radio transmitter that are used for long duration ballooning. These types of research balloons can reach heights of ~60,000 ft. which allows for stratospheric access. These balloons are made out of Mylar film and filled with a precise amount of gas to achieve a stable float at such high elevation. The basic construction of these balloons includes flex solar cells, radio transmitter and the lifting gas inside of the Mylar balloon. Using off the shelf Mylar balloons has been developed and tested by amateurs. It’s not uncommon for flights to circumnavigate the globe. Use of long wavelength transmitters and repeater networks make possible near real time tracking around the planet. The principle challenges are keeping the payload at a light enough weight to be floated by the size of Mylar balloons that are commercially available, keeping the balloon at desired height, and transmitting data using a very low bandwidth link.

Long duration ballooning can have many practical uses for science, economic, and security purposes. For example, ASU’s Low Frequency Cosmology Lab has interest in obtaining measurements of radio interference in the FM radio band at remote locations, and has identified lightweight long duration ballooning as a possible method. This would ultimately involve developments in the Southern hemisphere. Aside from advancements in research to the Interplanetary Lab and LoCo, we aim to use successful methods in collaboration with OWL Integrations and their technology. OWL developed technology which enables communication over long distances via the LoRa protocol using custom embedded systems and ad-hoc mesh networking. These systems have been demonstrated on multiple balloon flights. The goal of these flights is to demonstrate interconnection between non-line of sight nodes via a high altitude intermediary.

Partners: OWL Integrations
ASU Low Frequency Cosmology Lab

Interplanetary Laboratory key contributions: Ysabella McAuliffe – Project Manager through Interplanetary Laboratory We are responsible for planning Pico Balloon operations, such as range testing and assembly. We plan to have a successful launch by the end of August 2024. The pico balloon’s will launch from ASU and data will be downlinked to the IPL ground station.