Babelon

Project Babelon, named as a cross between the Tower of Babel and Balloons, was the first project of the Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association (YUAA), which was then known as the Yale Air & Space Group (ASG). The goal of this project was twofold: to take pictures from near space and to acquaint our group with technology which would enable us to pursue more advanced aerospace projects. Babylon was a helium balloon lifted “lighter-than-aircraft,” featuring a camera, cell-phone-based tracking system, and parachute. Babelon was launched on 12th February 2011. Shortly after takeoff, the cellphone-based telemetry system failed, and the payload was not recovered.

With a 14-page report identifying a lack of Connecticut cellular infrastructure at altitude as the primary fault, Babelon paved the way for the YUAA’s development of the command center, a custom telemetry unit developed by the YUAA.