Control a balloon’s altitude or ascent rate
With a balloon ballaster, latex balloons can achieve altitude controlled flights. Releasing ballast reduces the mass that the balloon is lifting, increasing the overall buoyancy of the balloon/payload system. Releasing ballast causes an already ascending balloon to ascend faster, or it can slow or stop a descending balloon.
On zero-pressure balloons, releasing ballast will cause the balloon to float at a higher altitude. It is also needed to offset night-time lift-gas cooling to stay afloat when the sun is no longer warming the balloon—diurnal ballast, usually requires releasing 6-8 % of the total system mass per night.
How do you use the HAB Ballaster?
This balloon ballaster can be controlled via the following interfaces: 1) short-range LoRa, 2) Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and/or 3) wired UART. The command structure is simple and in ASCII to permit control by either a flight computer or human operator. It can be monitored and tested on the ground using a smart-phone app, even while a flight computer is controlling it.
Two cold-protected batteries on the HAB Ballaster provide the necessary power for flights up to two days. For longer-duration flights, additional batteries or solar panels can be incorporated.
What is the ballast media for the HAB Ballaster?
The HAB Ballaster is designed to use sand. Sand ballast is an easily source-able material worldwide, is environmentally benign, and does not present a falling hazard. Other materials such as steel shot are possible, but these types of ballast may interfere with onboard radio transmissions.
