Project Zephyr

Role

Curriculum designer, program lead, and student mentor for a multi-year high-altitude balloon STEM program.

Challenge

Bring authentic aerospace engineering into a public high school setting—complete with sensors, FAA coordination, live tracking, and recovery—without losing the clarity and scaffolding students need to succeed.

Approach

Structured the mission as a full systems-engineering cycle: payload design, sensor integration, flight prediction, launch operations, chase/recovery, and post-flight analysis. Students owned technical decisions while receiving instructional supports for safety, documentation, and communication.

Outcomes

Students flew stratospheric missions with live telemetry, practiced FAA coordination and field recovery, and presented technical findings—building a transferable pathway into aerospace, robotics, and data-driven STEM fields.

Overview

Project Zephyr is a student-led high-altitude weather balloon mission that brings aerospace engineering to life. Students design and build the payload, integrate sensors and cameras, plan the launch, request FAA clearance, track telemetry in real time, and conduct field recovery and post-flight analysis. The project merges scientific research, engineering design, and teamwork into a full-scale aerospace mission.

Mission Video

Highlights

  • Target altitude: 80,000–100,000 ft in the stratosphere
  • APRS/GPS live tracking with chase and recovery operations
  • Onboard sensors: temperature, pressure, humidity, and inertial measurement unit (IMU)
  • 4K camera system with thermal insulation and environmental shielding
  • Flight path prediction and weather window planning
  • Comprehensive post-flight data analysis and presentation

Learning Impact

Students apply systems engineering principles, electronics integration, and power budgeting while coordinating with the FAA for flight clearance and safety compliance. They gain hands-on experience in risk management, mapping, recovery logistics, and technical communication—skills that translate directly into aerospace, robotics, and data science pathways.