Stratosphere Observation Project Using a Small Balloon

Abstract

Global warming continues to be a major concern around the world. The Integrated System Engineering Lab in Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) launched a small balloon to the stratosphere to study the ozone layer and greenhouse gases in order to understand global warming. It is a part of the Project Based Learning (PBL) course in KIT. The project mission objectives were to obtain photographs and video of the Earth surface and space and to perform measurement of the ozone gas (O₃) and carbon dioxide gas (CO₂) concentration in the atmosphere. The payload was launched into the stratosphere using a small balloon. After the balloon exploded at maximum altitude, the payload descended using a parachute before being recovered at sea. This project was divided into three (3) groups which were the structure, electrical and transmission team. Simulation of the flight path was performed to aid in recovering the payload. The project started from April 2016 and the balloon was successfully launched on October 30, 2016 from Saiki in the Oita prefecture of Kyushu, Japan. This paper will describe the procedure and result of this project.