September 2025
- Project kickoff completed.
- Requirements and success criteria defined.
- First hardware purchases completed.
Schedule and Milestones
Program timeline from kickoff through Mission 3 success and live tracking.
Reviews and launches are tracked against fixed milestones to keep mission risk and readiness visible for all teams and sponsors.
October 2025
- Preliminary Design Review: October 4, 2025.
- Critical Design Review: October 18, 2025.
- Flight Readiness Review: October 30, 2025.
November 2025
- First Launch: November 1, 2025.
- Post-Flight Review: November 5, 2025.
2026 Operations
- Launch #2 completed on January 11, 2026.
- Launch #3 completed on March 22, 2026.
- First full circumnavigation of Earth confirmed on April 4, 2026.
- Mission 3 launched successfully on April 25, 2026 and is now in live tracking.
Milestone Table
| Milestone | Date | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Project Kickoff | September 2025 | Define mission goals, requirements, and procurement plan. |
| PDR | October 4, 2025 | Review preliminary architecture and technical trades. |
| CDR | October 18, 2025 | Lock design and approve build for launch integration. |
| FRR | October 30, 2025 | Confirm launch readiness, safety, and operations coverage. |
| Launch #1 | November 1, 2025 | Execute first mission and gather baseline flight data. |
| Post-Flight Review | November 5, 2025 | Capture lessons learned and feed forward to next design. |
| Launch #2 | January 11, 2026 | Validate reliability upgrades and longer mission profile. |
| Launch #3 | March 22, 2026 | Execute the third launch campaign with four successful balloon releases across three bands. |
| First Circumnavigation | April 4, 2026 | The lead Stratocat balloon re-established transmission near 19.48 N, 108.46 W after completing a full global trajectory, confirming one full circumnavigation of Earth. |
| Mission 3 Success + Tracking | April 25, 2026 at 10:00 AM MST | Mission 3 launched successfully, and the site now points to the live tracking view for the active balloons. |