Stratodynamics

Stratodynamics is a Canadian company that provides high altitude flight services. Its clients need remote earth observation or monitoring on site. The company flies unmanned aircraft to near-space heights. It says this costs far less than high-altitude flights with a pilot on board.

Its main aircraft is the HiDRON. This is an unmanned glider that a balloon lifts to altitude. After release, it glides down in a controlled way. It can fly on its own or use soaring flight modes. It works in the cold air of the stratosphere, at about minus 60 degrees Celsius.

The operator at the ground station can change the return path in real time, and the landing is automatic. The company says this differs from common balloon methods. In those methods the instrument falls by parachute and may land hundreds of kilometers from the launch site. The HiDRON brings the instrument, data and samples back in a controlled way. It can be launched from many places around the world.

Stratodynamics reports several aviation records in Canada. It flew the highest UAV flight, from over 34 kilometers, or 110,000 feet. It made the first UAV flight above 29,000 feet in Class A and B airspace. It also made the first UAV release from a scientific gondola in Canada.

The website shows past launches. A June 2021 launch at Spaceport America used release altitudes of 25 and 30 kilometers. The payload held a wind probe designed by the University of Kentucky and an infrasonic microphone designed by NASA. A launch in December 2018 released at 25 kilometers with an ozonesonde and an air monitoring package.

The company fits customer instruments into the aircraft. This includes power supply, sensors, telemetry and heating. Data goes to the ground station live. It is time-stamped at 10 Hz and combined with GPS location. It can be joined with more than 200 flight parameters and video. Payload interfaces include UART, RS485, RS232 and CAN.

A new version, the HiDRON SO, is in development with funding from the Canadian Space Agency and help from the University of Waterloo. Its payload bay is made for a 5 kilogram, 5U Cubesat payload. The company is a member of the Perlan Atmospheric Research Team. Visitors can contact it to learn more about its plans.