Students at the University of Michigan are building a “high-altitude testing platform for atmospheric and space systems.” After a lot of prototyping and test flights, they have arrived at their final design.
The system uses four 3.5 Watt solar panels to power the electronics.
Solar Panel Deck for Space Balloon
The panels are mounted on a latticed aluminum frame and a poly-carbonate insulated electronics bay. Temperatures reach as low as -40 Celsius and the panels have performed well on all the flights.
Here is a very soothing video of the solar panels floating at 80,000 feet in space on March 24th.
At the beginning of the project, we had a conversation with Michigan student Robert Buechler about the suitability and performance of the panels in this environment. We are happy to have the same discussion with you.
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