7 ms·

Launching a weather balloon, a camera and a Raspberry Pi to the stratosphere

86 points by pinjiz 11y ago

rememberlenny 11y ago
Is anyone familiar with materials and cost involved?
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/180 https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/180
- pasiaj 11y ago
  I have some insight into how not to do it. :) https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2ncv6i/tifu_by_accidentally_violating_russian_airspace/ https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2ncv6i/tifu_by_accide...
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- deutronium 11y ago
  https://ukhas.org.uk/ https://ukhas.org.uk/ Has a lot of very good information on the balloons people use along with the type of radio transmitters which are legal to use in the UK etc.
- jgrahamc 11y ago
  I did a flight like this but using Arduino instead of Raspberry Pi (total overkill and power hungry). Full details: http://blog.jgc.org/2011/04/gaga-1-flight.html http://blog.jgc.org/2011/04/gaga-1-flight.html
  - uberneo 11y ago
    Looks more efficient .. with the use of Arduino
- RobotCaleb 11y ago
  Yes [0] Shoot me an email. I'm happy to answer questions. [0] - http://robotrising.org/StratoSphere/collection.html http://robotrising.org/StratoSphere/collection.html
fillskills 11y ago
What kind of restrictions are there on airspace use for such project? Airspace might be the wrong word. Is there a chance an aircraft might hit the ballon etc?
- deutronium 11y ago
  In the UK you get permission to launch a balloon, and a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) is published in advance https://ukhas.org.uk/guides:faq https://ukhas.org.uk/guides:faq
- dr_zoidberg 11y ago
  Coutry/state regulations vary across the world. Almost everywhere (might be a place on earth where this isn't legislated) you have to get proper authorization with a civil aviation agency.
- pinjiz 11y ago
  In Germany, you need a permit from the authorities (in this case: Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, cost: 30€) and you have to register a weather ballon launch at the German flight control (Deutsche Flugsicherung, cost: free).
eik3_de 11y ago
Launch site is only 40 km from where I live, fun to find that on HN! If someone wonders what those lines/structures on the hills are - those are vineyards. This region (Baden) is known for very nice wines :)
trhway 11y ago
why people don't attach rockets to such balloons? It is a very old idea, yet nobody so far seems to be doing it. Launch from 30km height without atmospheric drag to speak of would make reaching real space much easier. Is there some obstacle for doing it?
- BenderV 11y ago
  Had this idea before. I search on this internet, if recall properly, it's because to get into orbit, you mainly need a good horizontal (parallel to the earth) speed, and the ballon only give a vertical speed. Plus a ballon have lots of frictions and also cannot lift weight rocket. I hope it help a bit. (If a rocket scientist could answer, that would be awesome)
  - stvswn 11y ago
    Not a rocket scientist -- but I remember reading this: http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ You're right, it's about lateral speed.
- tzs 11y ago
  In the US, it is not legal to drop objects from amateur high altitude balloons. That includes launching projectiles from them. Laws relating to high altitude balloons vary from country to country, so I don't know the reason for people not doing it outside the US. Speaking of laws, at the minimum some things you should probably check before sending up a balloon is your country's laws on: • What notification you have to give, if any, and/or markers you have to place on the balloon so that it won't interfere with air traffic as it passes through the altitudes airplanes and helicopters use. • What methods of communication with the balloon are allowed. Many in the US us GSM cellular devices hooked to GPS units, but from what I've read that it is not legal to use cellular devices from high altitude balloons. The best approach in the US is to get a Technician class amateur radio license (and if you are the kind of person who can put together a decent payload for a high altitude balloon, you can learn enough to easily pass the radio license test in a couple evenings). You can then use amateur radio frequencies and equipment for your telemetry, and you are even allowed to build your own radios. A transmitter can be pretty simple and cheap to build if you are willing to transmit your data in Morse code (like, a transistor, a crystal, and a handful of resistors and capacitors and such). If you are sticking an Arduino or Pi or some such in there, that can easily convert the data to Morse and send it, and automatically decoding it on the ground with a computer is not hard. Everything else I've seen seems to be either illegal, or involves using unlicensed bands where you are legally limited to very low power which could be annoying (especially if your balloon lands far away from where you expected, and you are trying to track it down with radio direction finding). When you make licensed use of the ham bands, you can use a good amount of power (but only up to what is necessary to accomplish the mission). In the UK, from what I've read, the ham option doesn't work. Hams are not allowed to transmit from aircraft, and that includes balloons. Not sure what the best legal method of operating there is. • What constraints there are on the balloon. In the US there are regulations on, among other things, total weight of the complete system, total weight of the payload, and on the size/weight ratios of the components of the payload, and on the strength of the ropes attaching the payload to the balloon.
y3rsh 11y ago
Was really hoping to see video of the descent!
- camperman 11y ago
  Their memory card filled up unfortunately.
pXMzR2A 11y ago
> The local authorities helped us a lot, the forester aranged the cutting of two trees for us We killed two trees for a 15 minute long youtube video. Is this how little respect we all have for life?
- cushychicken 11y ago
  An acre and a half of Amazon rainforest disappears every hour, and this is the deforestation you get upset about. Don't you have better things to do, outrage junkie?
  - pXMzR2A 11y ago
    > An acre and a half of Amazon rainforest disappears every hour, and this is the deforestation you get upset about. According to this logic, I ought to not get upset, nor criticize any policy, perspective, or activity that causes less deaths than a previous or current one did. Assuming that for you, trees < animals < humans, since the European colonization of Americas killed off about 100 million human beings, I will have to wait for a catastrophe that kills off 101 million people to criticize anything that happens on earth. Convenient.
- nhayden 11y ago
  Pretty sure they just trimmed the branches a bit for the box to drop.
  - pXMzR2A 11y ago
    Nope, the author says they pretty much had the trees chopped, in a later comment. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503287
    - nhayden 11y ago
      Well that sucks.
- trhway 11y ago
copperx 11y ago
It reminds me of Balloon 1.0, which I can't find anymore on the web.
mactunes 11y ago
I did a very similar thing with my group of young volunteer firefighters (also in Germany). We launched a total mass of 500 grams in order to avoid having to get a special permit for this (note: this will change in Germany quite soon!) We also used a Raspberry Pi Model A+, but recorded 720p video. We powered it using a 9V block battery and regulated the voltage to 5V. Worked like a charm! Here's some videos and pics: http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/ http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/ Edit: Completely forgot. I also wrote some blog posts for anyone asking themselves how this can be done: http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-at-20km/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-a... http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electronics-in-the-cold/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electro... http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-materials/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-material...
kaybe 11y ago
European students can apply for the REXUS/BEXUS programme by ESA and a couple of national space agencies. You get to design your own experiment and put it on either a balloon or a rocket. It's a lot of work, but you get to experience the whole lifecycle of a space project -yay documentation/testing- and are supported by their engineers, and you travel quite a bit. (I was in a BEXUS 16 team - the balloon track - and can highly recommend the programme!) http://www.rexusbexus.net/ http://www.rexusbexus.net/

86 points by pinjiz 11y ago

rememberlenny 11y ago

Is anyone familiar with materials and cost involved?

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/180 https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/180
pasiaj 11y ago
I have some insight into how not to do it. :) https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2ncv6i/tifu_by_accidentally_violating_russian_airspace/ https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2ncv6i/tifu_by_accide...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
deutronium 11y ago
https://ukhas.org.uk/ https://ukhas.org.uk/ Has a lot of very good information on the balloons people use along with the type of radio transmitters which are legal to use in the UK etc.
jgrahamc 11y ago
I did a flight like this but using Arduino instead of Raspberry Pi (total overkill and power hungry). Full details: http://blog.jgc.org/2011/04/gaga-1-flight.html http://blog.jgc.org/2011/04/gaga-1-flight.html
- uberneo 11y ago
  Looks more efficient .. with the use of Arduino
RobotCaleb 11y ago
Yes [0] Shoot me an email. I'm happy to answer questions. [0] - http://robotrising.org/StratoSphere/collection.html http://robotrising.org/StratoSphere/collection.html

fillskills 11y ago

What kind of restrictions are there on airspace use for such project? Airspace might be the wrong word. Is there a chance an aircraft might hit the ballon etc?

deutronium 11y ago
In the UK you get permission to launch a balloon, and a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) is published in advance https://ukhas.org.uk/guides:faq https://ukhas.org.uk/guides:faq
dr_zoidberg 11y ago
Coutry/state regulations vary across the world. Almost everywhere (might be a place on earth where this isn't legislated) you have to get proper authorization with a civil aviation agency.
pinjiz 11y ago
In Germany, you need a permit from the authorities (in this case: Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, cost: 30€) and you have to register a weather ballon launch at the German flight control (Deutsche Flugsicherung, cost: free).

eik3_de 11y ago

Launch site is only 40 km from where I live, fun to find that on HN! If someone wonders what those lines/structures on the hills are - those are vineyards. This region (Baden) is known for very nice wines :)

trhway 11y ago

why people don't attach rockets to such balloons? It is a very old idea, yet nobody so far seems to be doing it. Launch from 30km height without atmospheric drag to speak of would make reaching real space much easier. Is there some obstacle for doing it?

BenderV 11y ago
Had this idea before. I search on this internet, if recall properly, it's because to get into orbit, you mainly need a good horizontal (parallel to the earth) speed, and the ballon only give a vertical speed. Plus a ballon have lots of frictions and also cannot lift weight rocket. I hope it help a bit. (If a rocket scientist could answer, that would be awesome)
- stvswn 11y ago
  Not a rocket scientist -- but I remember reading this: http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ You're right, it's about lateral speed.
tzs 11y ago
In the US, it is not legal to drop objects from amateur high altitude balloons. That includes launching projectiles from them. Laws relating to high altitude balloons vary from country to country, so I don't know the reason for people not doing it outside the US. Speaking of laws, at the minimum some things you should probably check before sending up a balloon is your country's laws on: • What notification you have to give, if any, and/or markers you have to place on the balloon so that it won't interfere with air traffic as it passes through the altitudes airplanes and helicopters use. • What methods of communication with the balloon are allowed. Many in the US us GSM cellular devices hooked to GPS units, but from what I've read that it is not legal to use cellular devices from high altitude balloons. The best approach in the US is to get a Technician class amateur radio license (and if you are the kind of person who can put together a decent payload for a high altitude balloon, you can learn enough to easily pass the radio license test in a couple evenings). You can then use amateur radio frequencies and equipment for your telemetry, and you are even allowed to build your own radios. A transmitter can be pretty simple and cheap to build if you are willing to transmit your data in Morse code (like, a transistor, a crystal, and a handful of resistors and capacitors and such). If you are sticking an Arduino or Pi or some such in there, that can easily convert the data to Morse and send it, and automatically decoding it on the ground with a computer is not hard. Everything else I've seen seems to be either illegal, or involves using unlicensed bands where you are legally limited to very low power which could be annoying (especially if your balloon lands far away from where you expected, and you are trying to track it down with radio direction finding). When you make licensed use of the ham bands, you can use a good amount of power (but only up to what is necessary to accomplish the mission). In the UK, from what I've read, the ham option doesn't work. Hams are not allowed to transmit from aircraft, and that includes balloons. Not sure what the best legal method of operating there is. • What constraints there are on the balloon. In the US there are regulations on, among other things, total weight of the complete system, total weight of the payload, and on the size/weight ratios of the components of the payload, and on the strength of the ropes attaching the payload to the balloon.

y3rsh 11y ago

Was really hoping to see video of the descent!

camperman 11y ago
Their memory card filled up unfortunately.

pXMzR2A 11y ago

> The local authorities helped us a lot, the forester aranged the cutting of two trees for us We killed two trees for a 15 minute long youtube video. Is this how little respect we all have for life?

cushychicken 11y ago
An acre and a half of Amazon rainforest disappears every hour, and this is the deforestation you get upset about. Don't you have better things to do, outrage junkie?
- pXMzR2A 11y ago
  > An acre and a half of Amazon rainforest disappears every hour, and this is the deforestation you get upset about. According to this logic, I ought to not get upset, nor criticize any policy, perspective, or activity that causes less deaths than a previous or current one did. Assuming that for you, trees < animals < humans, since the European colonization of Americas killed off about 100 million human beings, I will have to wait for a catastrophe that kills off 101 million people to criticize anything that happens on earth. Convenient.
nhayden 11y ago
Pretty sure they just trimmed the branches a bit for the box to drop.
- pXMzR2A 11y ago
  Nope, the author says they pretty much had the trees chopped, in a later comment. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503287 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9503287
  - nhayden 11y ago
    Well that sucks.
trhway 11y ago

copperx 11y ago

It reminds me of Balloon 1.0, which I can't find anymore on the web.

mactunes 11y ago

I did a very similar thing with my group of young volunteer firefighters (also in Germany). We launched a total mass of 500 grams in order to avoid having to get a special permit for this (note: this will change in Germany quite soon!) We also used a Raspberry Pi Model A+, but recorded 720p video. We powered it using a 9V block battery and regulated the voltage to 5V. Worked like a charm! Here's some videos and pics: http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/ http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/ Edit: Completely forgot. I also wrote some blog posts for anyone asking themselves how this can be done: http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-at-20km/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-a... http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electronics-in-the-cold/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electro... http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-materials/index.html http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-material...

kaybe 11y ago

European students can apply for the REXUS/BEXUS programme by ESA and a couple of national space agencies. You get to design your own experiment and put it on either a balloon or a rocket. It's a lot of work, but you get to experience the whole lifecycle of a space project -yay documentation/testing- and are supported by their engineers, and you travel quite a bit. (I was in a BEXUS 16 team - the balloon track - and can highly recommend the programme!) http://www.rexusbexus.net/ http://www.rexusbexus.net/