Introduction Pico-13 was launched on 28/03/2026 and used the same 60-inch ‘cymylar’ balloon and tracker that we used on Pico-11. It was also our first flight using hydrogen, which meant there were a few extra things to think about before launch. Balloon details After the failure of Pico-12, we decided to play it safe and used a 6-cell horizontal panel and an LDO. We also used the 17m band, as it worked well for Pico-11. ...
Introduction Pico-12 was launched on 25/03/2026 and used the same 60-inch ‘cymylar’ balloon and tracker that we used on Pico-11. The aim of this flight was to measure the internal temperature and pressure of the balloon, and to see whether the superpressure behaviour we expected would show up in flight. Balloon details We used a single horizontal 4-cell panel and a boost converter. The LPS22 pressure sensor was soldered directly to the tracker and a BMP280 module was connected using four 32AWG wires. The sensor assembly was then inserted up the neck of the balloon so that it could measure the internal conditions. ...
Introduction Pico-11 was launched on 19/12/2025 and used the same 60-inch ‘cymylar’ balloon that worked well on the last flight. It also used a new tracker design that makes significant changes to the previous design. New Design We fixed all the issues we had with the previous design, while also making the board significantly smaller. We did this in part by moving the GPS module to the back of the PCB. We also moved the boost converter off the main PCB and replaced it with a simple 3.3 V LDO. This gives us much more flexibility when it comes to powering the tracker. ...
Introduction Pico-10 was launched on 24/09/2025 and used a new clear 60" ‘cymylar’ balloon purchased from Alibaba. At £40 for a pack of 20, this is the cheapest balloon we have used so far. The payload was identical to that of Pico-7 and reused the PCB from Pico-9. We used around 3.5g of free lift. Launch Day There was some intermittent cloud so we tried to time the launch so that the sky would be clear. After preparing the payload, we had to wait for a tractor to finish cutting the grass on the field. This gave the supercapacitor ample time to charge and we were able to receive a transmission before launching it. ...
Introduction Pico-9 was launched the morning Pico-8 started up for the fist day since launch. We reverted back to the design from Pico-7 which we knew worked. The weather seemed perfect: clear blue sky and only a light wind. The launch preparation went smoothly right up until we launched. The launch Upon releasing the balloon, the balloon initially rose off the ground to around 30m. It then seemed to get caught by a gust of wind and stop rising. It narrowly avoided some nearby houses and trees before disappearing from view. ...