Command Module
The CMD, or Command Module, is the main tracking and telemetry system for the Balloon Payload Program. For this launch, it has been redesigned into its fifth version, improving and enhancing all of the three major payload subsystems: electronics, structure, and power.
Host Payload for B.A.D.A.S.S.
Host payload is a testbed for the use of advanced materials and manufacturing processes in payload construction, provides high resolution video throughout the flight, and is also testing a new generation of electronics called Balloonduino. Host payload will be the first payload of the Balloon Attitude Determination and Stabilization System, slated to fly next semester and provide stabilization during the rigorous motion of balloon flight.
Bach’s Box Weather Payload
Bach's Optic Box can sense temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, UV intensity, and dust in the air. The box will be measuring ozone as it rises. The goal is to correlate changes in UV intensity and dust in the atmosphere as it enters the strastophere. It will also be experimenting with a GoPro which will take stills instead of a video.
WhiteBox
WhiteBox is housing some experimental technologies for the Balloon Payload Program. In their second flight, 900 MHz radios are being tested for their data transmission capabilities of images. One radio band will be sending periodic images during flight and the other will send XBee and telemetry data, similarly to their initial flight. Data will be received on the ground at our tracking stations in the chase vans for further analysis.
SPECTREv.4 Solar Cell Module
The latest in the SPECTRE series, v.4 features a 3D-printed chassis with 8 solar panels. The objective of this flight is to determine the in-flight recharge capabilities of these lightweight solar panels. Past flights have studied the voltage outputs of these solar panels with respect to altitude, yielding encouraging results. This version will begin testing the end-goal of SPECTRE: increasing battery life while reducing payload weight.
TrapSat from Capitol Tech University
This payload is a prototype of a Cubesat that uses a block of silica aerogel to capture microdebris in orbit. It is also testing an innovative hinged, Nichrome-activated lid which will protect the aerogel until the lid is opened after reaching the desired altitude.