Three Complementary Ways We Obtain Data
Vertical snapshots, continuous ground truth, and long-duration drift data work together rather than in isolation. All three streams are released publicly.
X2Griffon Stratospheric Flights
Lightweight (~1.01 lb) high-altitude balloon platforms for rapid ascents to approximately 115,000 feet followed by parachute recovery. Capture detailed vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, wind shear, and atmospheric stability layers.
Fixed Ground Weather Station
Continuous surface meteorological observations from a personal weather station (PWS) deployed in Clark County, Illinois (Casey area). Provides temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and related measurements that anchor local conditions and feed into broader networks. Actively contributed to NASA GLOBE.
MAD-AP Drift Platforms
Modular Advanced Data Acquisition Payload — lightweight mid-altitude platforms engineered for long-duration flights in the jet stream using a smaller helium balloon that catches natural winds for multi-day or circumnavigation missions.
X2Griffon
Formerly known as AmUP01 · Maiden science flight: September 19, 2026 · Target ≈ 115,000 ft
Lightweight (~1.01 lb) high-altitude balloon platforms designed for rapid ascents to approximately 115,000 feet followed by parachute recovery. Capture detailed vertical profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, wind shear, atmospheric stability layers, and precise GPS positioning throughout ascent, float, and descent.
Custom-built for reliable stratospheric vertical profiling with real-time public telemetry. All raw atmospheric data is prepared for public release with a target turnaround of under 48 hours after successful recovery.
- Total System Weight
- ~1.01 lb (≈ 458 g)
- Payload Containment Unit
- Rugged waterproof ABS
≈ 5.9 × 3.9 × 2.8 in
- Target Altitude
- ≈ 115,000 ft (stratosphere)
- Telemetry & Tracking
- QRP Labs U4B · APRS (70 cm) / GPS / WSPR
- Recovery Features
- Parachute + BLE · Midwest Payload Ground Recovery Team
- Construction
- Midwest-manufactured · In-house electronics
Data Acquired
Latitude, longitude, and 6-character Maidenhead grid locator
Height from onboard GPS · 3-D velocity vector and groundspeed
Onboard LM75 / LM75B temperature sensor
Power supply and battery level measurements
Fast-response linear resistive platinum sensor (minimizes solar radiation errors)
Dual humidity-temperature sensor with active de-icing and pre-flight chemical reconditioning
Continuous velocity and direction via onboard GPS/GNSS
High-accuracy altitude and pressure profiles via GNSS or integrated barometric sensors
Mission Profile
Designed for rapid helium-balloon ascent into the stratosphere, continuous sensor sampling and real-time telemetry throughout the flight, balloon burst near peak altitude, and controlled parachute descent for recovery.
Engineering Notes
Extreme cold at altitude is addressed with proven lightweight heating approaches (including exothermic methods) to maintain battery and electronics performance. Ground validation (full dry functional tests of power, GPS, APRS encoding, sensors, and flight logic) has been successfully completed ahead of the September 2026 campaign.
MAD-AP
Modular Advanced Data Acquisition Payload · Jetstream Circumnavigation Platform
The MAD-AP is engineered for persistent mid-altitude flight by using a smaller helium balloon carefully sized to reach equilibrium in the natural jetstream. Once there, the platform rides the strong mid-tropospheric winds, enabling extended multi-day observations and the potential for global circumnavigation.
It utilizes the same core internal components from the X2Griffon / AmUP01 Payload Containment Unit — including the prebuilt PCB board with integrated APRS and GPS capabilities — while optimizing for reduced overall system mass and long-duration endurance. Hard-configured and manufactured right here in the Midwest.
While the atmospheric data collected differs in profile and temporal characteristics from our edge-of-space X2Griffon missions, it provides essential complementary insights into mid-tropospheric dynamics, wind patterns, and atmospheric processes that short vertical flights cannot fully capture.
- Core System Weight
- ~1.01 lb (≈ 458 g)
- Platform Electronics
- Same core PCB + sensors
Optimized enclosure / mass
- Flight Regime
- Mid-altitude jetstream
Equilibrium float
- Telemetry & Tracking
- QRP Labs U4B · APRS (70 cm) / GPS / WSPR
- Recovery Elements
- High-performance Recovery GPS · WSPR + hybrid Bluetooth / crowd-sourced tracking
- Balloon Strategy
- Smaller helium balloon sized for natural jetstream capture & long-duration float
Natural Jetstream Capture
A carefully selected smaller helium balloon is used so the platform reaches neutral buoyancy within the strong mid-level jetstream winds rather than continuing to the stratosphere.
Circumnavigation Potential
Once established in the jetstream, the MAD-AP can remain aloft for multi-day periods, riding global wind patterns with the possibility of long-range or full circumnavigation trajectories.
Complementary Science
Provides persistent mid-tropospheric observations of wind patterns, shear, and atmospheric dynamics that complement the high-resolution vertical profiles from X2Griffon flights.
Shared Core Technology
The MAD-AP shares the same high-reliability telemetry and recovery stack used on X2Griffon platforms:
- ▸ QRP Labs U4B pico tracker (APRS / GPS / WSPR)
- ▸ Ham radio license KE9CFY operations
- ▸ Hybrid Bluetooth + crowd-sourced recovery tracking
- ▸ Midwest-manufactured critical electronics
Fixed Ground Weather Station
Clark County, Illinois (Casey area) · NASA GLOBE Participant
Continuous surface meteorological observations from a personal weather station (PWS) deployed in Clark County, Illinois (Casey area). Provides temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and related measurements that anchor local conditions and feed into broader networks.
Actively contributed to the NASA GLOBE program (registration GO-4VW9B). These surface observations supply essential local context and calibration anchors for the high-altitude and mid-altitude platforms.
- Location
- Casey, Illinois
Clark County
- Measurements
- Temp · Pressure · Humidity
- Network
- NASA GLOBE
GO-4VW9B
- Role
- Ground truth & local context
One Architecture, Three Perspectives
Vertical profiles from X2Griffon, continuous surface observations from the fixed ground weather station, and long-duration mid-altitude measurements from MAD-AP platforms work together to provide a richer picture of the atmosphere than any single method alone. All data is released publicly.