2022-05-15 · HAST / SkyEdge · Mission archive
Recording the view was only part of the objective. The images had to reach ground receivers during the flight. On 15 May 2022, the team brought together a custom transmitter, onboard cameras and a tracking ground station.
- Achieved altitude
- 31 km
- Highest video format
- 1080p / 25 fps
- Reported reception
- 370 km
An airborne television payload
The balloon launched from Otwock at 09:00 UTC. The payload included a Raspberry Pi 3B+, LimeSDR Mini, an amplifier chain and an external H.265 encoder. GoPro 3 cameras and a Raspberry Pi HQ Camera provided imagery. Approximately 1 W was fed to a QFH antenna built by Robert SQ5RB.
Reception during flight
F5OEO's dvbsdr software supported digital television transmission in the amateur 70 cm band. Settings varied from lower resolutions to 1920 × 1080 at 25 frames per second with 8PSK modulation. This allowed the team to explore different reception configurations during the experiment.
The ground segment mattered just as much
The main receiving station used a 2 × 19-element crossed Yagi array on an azimuth-elevation rotator, following the payload's APRS position. Received video was relayed online. The post-flight account reports reception at 370 km and participation by a receiver in Slovakia. These are results from this flight, not a guaranteed coverage radius.
Recovery completed the workflow
The team located the payload after its parachute descent. Contributors included Tomasz SP5LOT, Robert SQ5RB and Tomasz SP5CUD, supported by receiving stations and the MASR and SP5POT communities. The mission tested the complete chain from camera and encoding to radio transmission, tracking and reception.
Based on the team’s archived post-flight account. The figures describe this mission and are not guarantees for future flights. More missions.
