Blue kite flying over grassy field with trees and buildings under a clear sky
Early flight testing of the HERMES glider. Pictured is a remotely-piloted version, the avionics for automated flight had not yet been installed.

High-Altitude Experimental Rogallo Mission to Escort Safely (HERMES)

  • by Kelden Ben-Ora and Adam Zufall

Problem Description

High-altitude balloons carry payloads that can generate terabytes of data, with power and communication constraints that result in physical storage as the only viable means of data recovery. The current method of recovery, descent on a parachute, results in unacceptably large landing ellipses, mechanical loads to sensitive hardware, and risk of further damage or total loss of hardware if landing occurs in an inopportune area. A lightweight, deployable method of data recovery will lessen the risk of losing valuable data; furthermore, a gentle, controlled descent enables the recovery and re-use of an entire balloon payload.

Research Aims

We built a stowable, deployable, autonomous Rogallo-style glider that was capable of carrying a 1-kg payload (e.g. hard drive) from deployment on a high-altitude (approximately 130k feet) balloon to a predetermined landing site. The glider plans its route based on the estimated winds (as predicted prior to the balloon's launch) and its current location. Using a two-axis robot arm, the glider moves the avionics package to steer, much as a human uses their own weight to steer a hang glider. 

Associated Students

  • Kelden Ben-Ora
  • Adam Zufall
  • Lily Figueroa

Associated Publications

  • Design and Flight of an Autonomous Rogallo Glider for Recovery of High-Altitude Balloon Payloads and Data - AIAA ASCEND - 2024

Primary Category

Past

Secondary Categories

Humans & Aeronautics Aerodynamics & Fluid Physics UAVs