My research thus far has been slow and I am struggling to understand some of the concepts behind HAB. However, this is what I have gathered:
I will need a weather balloon, which will need to be filled with Helium (or Hydrogen, but that is improbable as it is expensive to make and highly dangerous to use). Then there’s the rig which will hold the camera but at this point I have no idea how to operate it remotely. The rig will need to be shock absorbent, as it will have to protect the camera and other equipment inside.
Another issue is stability. I don’t know if this will work, but I was thinking of maybe triangulating the holding lines from the balloon to the rig (fig. 1), and also keeping the rig close to the balloon, minimizing rotation. This way it will prevent spinning and ultimately make for better photos and video footage.
I also had an idea for the rig, although to be honest I don’t think it will work and will only add extra weight to the balloon. I was thinking of maybe making the box out of Polystyrene and placing a frame around it, so that it is easily attachable to the balloon (fig. 2). The frame would also have absorbers, so that if it lands on its side, they will take most of the impact. But just thinking about it now, I wouldn’t want the rig landing on its side anyway in which case that would be unnecessary.
At this point I still don’t know what I’m doing or how do to it. I think some professional guidance would go a long way. Speaking of which, I will give Rian a call later today.
