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HAR: A Low-Cost Modular Flight Computer for High Altitude Ballooning

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Abstract

Reliable systems for collecting, storing, and transmitting sensor data are critical for high-altitude balloon experimentation. However, existing COTS systems are expensive, inflexible, or difficult to source and are out of reach to low-budget academic or amateur ballooning organizations. Our solution, the High Altitude Reporter (HAR), is a flight computer designed for stratospheric ballooning that collects and transmits GNSS and atmospheric data and is intended to be cheap, accessible, and easy to use for small teams. HAR utilizes SparkFun’s MicroMod ecosystem to increase modularity and reduce complexity by taking advantage of MicroMod’s M.2 form factor. The onboard ESP32 processor allows the wireless linking of onboard devices through the processor’s WiFi transceiver in addition to standard wired communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART). HAR utilizes a 915 MHz LoRa transceiver module to provide a data downlink and command uplink during flight. In this paper, we describe the HAR architecture and implementation. As a demonstration of HAR’s capabilities, we also analyze data collected during various test flights. Results indicate that HAR is a consistent and reliable flight computer for high-altitude ballooning and is easily expandable to allow for the implementation of many additional features.

How to Cite:

Goeckner, N. A. & Nelson, M. E., (2024) “HAR: A Low-Cost Modular Flight Computer for High Altitude Ballooning”, Academic High Altitude Conference 2024(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.18002