MM45 - 2020-02-27

Tracker Details

Tracker Type: WSPR

Model: PicoTrackerWSPR1Rev5

Powered by (6) 2" x .75" Aoshike solar cells

Configuration:

gpsLockTimeoutMs : 150000 2:30

lhAltFtThreshold : 25000

hAlt.wakeAndEvaluateMs : 600000 10:00

lAlt.wakeAndEvaluateMs : 0 0

lAlt.stickyMs : 0 0

crystalCorrectionFactor : 1500

systemClockOffsetMs : -1

Launch Parameters

Balloon and Payload

• Single Qualatex balloon
• 13.11 gram payload
• 2.17 grams free lift

Predictions

Actuals

Traveled 10,731 miles.

234 hours of flight time.

Max altitude 28,500 ft.

General Thoughts / Observations

This was my second solar flight, the first used ten solar cells where the power was directed through the regulator. In this flight, I used six 2 x .75 cells on a tracker with no regulator. The power is going directly to the AVR. The six cells have a 470 uF capacitor in line.

Transatlantic! My first flight to make it across the Atlantic Ocean.

After crossing the Atlantic, the balloon did a traverse across Africa. Countries crossed in Africa were Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. After exiting Africa, the balloon continued on through Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and the last signal was in India. What a great flight!

Thoughts for next time

Time to focus on building custom balloons for greater elevation.