Does “Pix or it didn’t occur” apply to touring to the sting of house on a balloon-lofted photo voltaic observatory? Yes, it completely does.
The breathtaking views on this web page come courtesy of IRIS-2, a compact imaging bundle that creators [Ramón García], [Miguel Angel Gomez], [David Mayo], and [Aitor Conde] lately determined to launch as open supply {hardware}. It rode to the sting of house aboard Sunrise III, a balloon-borne photo voltaic observatory designed to review photo voltaic magnetic fields and atmospheric plasma flows.
To do this the observatory wanted a continuous view of the Sun over an prolonged interval, so the platform was launched from northern Sweden through the summer time of 2024. It rose to 37 km (23 miles) and stayed aloft within the stratosphere monitoring the never-setting Sun for six and a half days earlier than touchdown safely in Canada.
Strictly talking, IRIS-2 wasn’t a part of the first mission, no less than when it comes to gathering photo voltaic information. Rather, the 5 kg (11 pound) bundle was designed to supply engineering information in regards to the platform, together with hella cool video of the flight. To that finish, it was fitted with 4 GoPro cameras managed by an MPS340 microcontroller. The cameras level in several instructions to seize all of the essential motion on the platform, like the primary telescope slewing to trace the solar, in addition to particulars of the balloon system itself.
The controller was programmed to report 4K video at 30 frames per second throughout launch and touchdown, plus fifteen minutes of 120 FPS video through the balloon launch. The remainder of the time, the cameras took a single body each two minutes, which resulted in some fantastic time-lapse sequences. The entire factor was powered by 56 AA batteries, and judging by the video beneath it carried out flawlessly through the flight, regardless of the penetrating stratospheric chilly and blistering UV publicity.
Hats off to the IRIS-2 staff for this accomplishment. Sure, the movies are a delight, however that is extra than simply eye sweet. Seeing how the observatory and balloon platform carried out throughout flight gives precious engineering information that may little doubt enhance future flights.
