Successful completion of the first stratospheric mission: 84 hours of flight and over 10,000 km

On March 15, 2025, the Aeronova team, together with the Stratospheric Systems engineering center, launched a stratospheric balloon from a test range in the city of Kirzhach.

The vehicle completed an 84-hour flight, covering a distance of over 10,000 km at an average speed of 120 km/h. This was a significant event for the scientific community.

After launch, communications with the vehicle were absent in accordance with the programmed power-saving mode: data transmission was activated only with sufficient sunlight on the solar panels. During the first daytime session, the balloon was confirmed to have reached the planned altitude. All systems operated nominally, including automatic buoyancy stabilization.

The mission yielded a wealth of important and useful data: the effectiveness of the self-contained, zero gas-loss envelope design was confirmed; all flight dynamics mathematical models were validated under stratospheric flow conditions. An adaptive ballasting system that compensates for diurnal temperature fluctuations was also tested. Importantly, the feasibility of long-duration drift (3+ days) while maintaining the functionality of onboard systems was demonstrated.

“Subsequent launches will focus on replicating and scaling the proven solutions, integrating upgraded buoyancy control and navigation systems. The data obtained will underpin the design of the next generation of stratospheric platforms for scientific and commercial applications,” — said Aeronova’s Chief Technical Officer, Fyodor Konstantinov.

*The translation is done with the help of artificial intelligence.