High Altitude Balloon

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Designed a parafoil-guided autonomous descent system for high-altitude balloon payload recovery. A parafoil was selected over powered gliders or drones to maximize reliability, stability, and simplicity while maintaining controllable descent with minimal moving parts under extreme altitude conditions.

MY CONTRIBUTIONS

• 01

  Designed the primary parafoil steering mechanism, the most critical mechanical subsystem for autonomous descent control

• 02

  Developed a servo–pulley control architecture enabling independent manipulation of parafoil control lines to modulate canopy shape and descent trajectory

• 03

  Led multiple design iterations, refining servo placement, pulley geometry, and housing to improve stability and manufacturability

• 04

  Reduced pulley housing to a 3D-printable U-shaped structure after identifying tolerance and geometry limitations in earlier designs

• 05

  Designed fixed servo mounts to withstand sustained line tension during deployment and descent

• 06

  Identified servo axle shear loading as a key failure mode and proposed a revised pulley-supported load path to offload forces from the servo shaft

• 07

  Contributed to flight-tested hardware used during a May 2022 test launch

RESULTS

• Delivered a flight-tested parafoil steering mechanism suitable for autonomous high-altitude descent

• Demonstrated stable, controllable parafoil actuation with minimal mechanical complexity

• Developed next-generation designs addressing structural load paths and material selection beyond PLA

• Entered into the NASA FLOATing DRAGON high-altitude deployment competition