Case: Nuka Stationery
Nuka is a startup created by three Ukrainian students, engaged in the production of the eternal stationery. A pen that writes with metal oxide and a notebook made of polymer paper conquered the stratosphere and returned back to Earth, reaching an altitude of 31 km.
Launch summary
5 000 people
LAUNCH AUDIENCE
DRAW OF GOODS
PURPOSE OF THE PROMOTION
31 KM (103K FT)
Maximum altitude
42 KM / H
MAXIMUM SPEED
127 min
FLIGHT TIME
56 km
DISTANCE
CENTRAL UKRAINE
LOCATION
10.10.2018
Дата запуску
Notebook and Pen
Focal Object
Nuka
CUSTOMER
Launch video
The HAB (High altitude balloon) covered an altitude of 31 km, flying 56 km from the launch site to landing.
Onboard cameras captured three hours of high-quality 4K video of Nuka products flying into space.
Nuka’s Instagram campaign was more than successful, with 10 luckies who received pens that had visited space.
The idea of the Nuka promotion is to draw between the startup’s Instagram subscribers eternal pens that flew in the pre – space area on board a HAB (High altitude balloon).
Scientific component of the launch
During this flight, the Cosmos Agency Strato team felt a new radio beacon, transmits 4 channels of telemetry: coordinates, height, flight speed and temperature.
This data significantly increases the scientific potential of our launches and has become a mandatory component of them.
In addition, we set ourselves the task of reaching an altitude of 30 kilometers. No one in Ukraine has ever done this, especially with video in 4K quality.
«We have set ourselves the task of reaching an altitude of 30 kilometers»
Preparation
Preliminary preparations for the launch of Nuka began in early September 2018. We planned to launch the HAB (High altitude balloon) while the weather is still good, in order to get a stable picture and simplify the vehicle search procedure.
Assembling a HAB
We were assembling the body in the FabLab laboratory.
The design that we developed together with the lab’s experts was very durable and perfect for launching.
Nuka metal pens were supposed to fly on board as a playful payload, which will later be drawn between subscribers.
The corresponding launch window opened closer to mid-October, these were the last warm, windless days and we took advantage of this opportunity.
«An aeronautical warning about our launch has already been transmitted to aircraft in the sky»
Launch day
Having previously agreed on the time and place of launch with the relevant authorities, we loaded all the equipment into the car and left early in the morning in the direction of the launch pad.
Despite the fact that the flight route of the HAB (High altitude balloon) ran far from the routes of aircraft and populated areas, an aeronautical warning about our launch was transmitted to the boards that were in the sky – safety first of all.
During the launch, the cosmos Agency Strato team was joined by a well-known instagram blogger and photographer Mykyta Bereh.
«The balloon flew upwards at a speed of 5 m / s, cheerfully cutting through the air and swaying a little»
The flight is normal
We got to the launch pad and started preparing: we filled the shell with helium, checked all the systems and turned on the cameras.
There was practically no wind and the balloon flew upwards at a speed of 5 m / s, cheerfully cutting through the air and swaying a little.
As soon as the HAB (High altitude balloon) disappeared from view, we moved in the direction of the intended landing point.
The radio beacon regularly transmitted telemetry, and the cameras documented the flight of the Nuka notebook and pen into the stratosphere.
«If the diameter of the balloon on the ground was about 3 meters, then at the peak height before the rupture , it was 12m – this is the height of a three-story house»
Conquering the stratosphere
The HAB (High altitude balloon) was rapidly gaining height and speed. The main thing now is to get the coordinates of the landing point.
Onboard cameras captured a notebook and pen against the background of the vast expanses of central Ukraine. Kyiv got into the frame, on the right you can see the riverbed of the Dnieper, and somewhere far away the city of Dnipro.
Atmospheric pressure drops approximately 100 times as the HAB (High altitude balloon) rises (at an altitude of 30 km), which increases the helium shell many times over.
The diameter of the balloon on the ground was about 3 meters, then at the peak height before the rupture , it was 12m – this is the height of a three-story house.
Due to the advantage of the internal pressure of helium over the external, the balloon walls can not withstand the stress and collapse.
And so it happened, at an altitude of 31,486 meters, the balloon exploded, after which the HAB (High altitude balloon) began to dive down. The parachute gradually slowed down the fall, slowing it down to 5 m / s.
«After flying 56 kilometers in an hour and a half, it landed in a field, just five meters from a small river and water reservoir»
Search
About two hours passed after the launch, we arrived in the area, from where the HAB (High altitude balloon) signal was last received.
The HAB (High altitude balloon) was somewhere nearby, but we couldn’t see it. Comparing our location and the coordinates of the probe, we came to the conclusion that it is on the opposite side of a small river.
Part of the team followed it. The HAB (High altitude balloon) was already waiting for us, sprawled on the dug-up ground.
The HAB (High altitude balloon) was found intact and unharmed, and it was necessary to check the memory cards of the onboard cameras.
One of the cameras safely filmed the entire flight, but the second failed halfway. That is why we always install several cameras.
Result
Our goal was to overcome the 30 km mark and test the radio beacon. As a result, we overcame the 31 km mark, and the radio beacon showed itself from the best side.
In total, the cameras shot three hours of high-quality 4K video of the flight of Nuka products in space.
Instagram campaign of the startup was more than successful, 10 luckies received pens tath had visited space.
Case: M1 Music Awards
The management of the M1 TV channel appealed to us with the idea to send the M1 Music Awards 2018 statuette to the stratosphere on the occasion of the awarding of cultural and TV figures
STRATO
The Strato team launches high-altitude balloons for research and advertising purposes. High-altitude balloons are a multifunctional tool for scientific and marketing activities.
Our mission is to make near space accessible to all comers. In addition, among the priority tasks, we see the development of the aerospace sector in Ukraine and abroad.
+38 (099) 048-61-11
Address in Kyiv:
st. Leiptsyzka 3-a. Kyiv
Workshop:
Unit City Dorohozhytska, 1. Kyiv
