Flight electronics and envelope system for stratospheric endurance.

Tracker Hardware

• Core system: Raspberry Pi Pico with configurable WSPR messages.
• Traquito's Jetpack reference shows how a Pico-class tracker can pair GPS, radio, and voltage monitoring in a compact student-buildable stack.
• That documentation is especially useful when students are learning how GPS, altitude, speed, and voltage telemetry fit together.
• Firmware controls transmit band and slot assignments for each mission profile.
• Hardware state is validated during preflight checkout and launch rehearsal.

Navigation and Power

• Ublox GPS receiver provides positional and timing data for telemetry packets.
• Power architecture uses fragile bare solar cells with lightweight interconnect handling.
• Traquito's solar documentation is a strong comparison reference because it clearly lays out lighter, cheaper fragile-cell builds versus more robust but costlier PowerFilm options.
• Power continuity is tracked through cold weather and low-sun-angle conditions.

Antenna System

• The physical tether is used as half of the antenna system.
• Trade studies and VNA measurements guide tuning across expected flight conditions.
• We also use Traquito's tracker and GUI references to help students connect antenna choices, band/channel planning, and what they later see in live tracking dashboards.
• Antenna routing is coordinated with structure and insulation to reduce detuning risk.

Balloon Envelope

• Conditioned Chinese Mylar balloon envelope is used for flight readiness.
• Envelope is pressurized with humid air to stretch material and check for leaks.
• Leak test outcomes inform final go/no-go decision before filling and launch.

Lifting Gas Transition

• Program is migrating from a low-lift Helium/Air mixture to pure Hydrogen.
• Transition is managed with additional safety procedures and operations review.
• Flight dynamics assumptions are updated for higher-lift profiles.

Hardware Visuals

Current campaign imagery is shown below while the team continues publishing close-up payload, solar, and antenna build photography.

Why We Recommend Traquito

Traquito is one of the clearest public references we found for WSPR pico-balloon work. It is especially useful for student onboarding because it ties together hardware, configuration, telemetry, and tracking in one place.

• Jetpack tracker overview and technical details for Pico-based WSPR systems.
• Solar-power guides that compare ease, durability, cost, weight, and assembly time.
• Web tools for tracker setup, channel planning, and dashboard-based flight follow-up.

Official Traquito Resources

Visitors who want the full reference set should start with the official site and then branch into tracker, solar, and configuration pages.