Welcoming in a new era of HacDC weather balloons!
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 110k ft |
| Temperature | -40C - 40C |
| Payload Mass | 2.2 kg |
(We'll need to get a supplier for an estimated 290 cubic feet of helium)
These are the expected payload modules, in order of priority.
28.3km
fenix-rust for the SpaceBlimp and fraublucher-rust for the ground station| Board | Cost | CPU | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelTec LoRa V4 | $22 | ESP32-S3R2 | LoRa32 V4 |
| Board | Cost ($75) | Function | Interface | Datasheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <See CPU> | Radio | SPI | SX1262 | |
| <See CPU> | GPS | UART (9600bps) | L76K | |
| uSD Slot | $7 | Data Log | SPI | |
| GY-SHT31-D | $10 | Temperature + Humidity | I2C | SHT3x |
| 16-Channel Servo Controller | $6 | Motion Controller | I2C | PCS9685 |
| BNO055 | Gyro + Compass + Temperature | I2C | BN0055 | |
| AirTag | $18 | Tracking Backup | NA | Apple AirTag Specifications |
| 4.4Ah LiIon | $13 | Power Source | JST-PH2.0 | ICR18650 |
We'd like to have a barometer on board, but all of the potential sensors I could find bottomed out around 200 hPa when we need to survive at 10.
Named after Frau Blücher from Young Frankenstein because it's an important side-element to further our plot.
Based around the Heltec LoRa32 V3.2.
On Monday's (2 Feb 2026) Open Project Night we delegated who will work on each core component of the fenix firmware.
| Component | Assigned People | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Main | Liz | Handle integration of components |
| APRS | Liz | Assemble APRS packets and send to radio for transmission |
| LoRa | Rae, Liz | Transmit/Recieve data on LoRa radio |
| SD Logging | Liz | Save relevant data to SD card |
| Sensor Polling | Ivan, Nick | Query various sensors |
| WiFi Beacon | Maddie | Transmit location beacon over 2.4GHz WiFi |
| Servo Control | Ivan | Control servos via I2C |
Elizabeth C.
Nick H.
Ivan J.
Madeline P.
Rachel S.