Stratolink · Pico Balloon Flight Report
stratolink-3 — San Francisco Bay to Baja California
Peak Altitude
9,744 m
31,967 ft — GPS confirmed
Min Temperature
-38.2 °C
Late float phase
Float Duration
~10 hrs
Stable 284–287 hPa
Ground Coverage
~900 km
SF Bay to near Tijuana
Altitude Profile
Atmospheric Cross-Section
Full altitude profile — GPS-validated ascent, barometric derivation through GPS freeze, confirmed float at ~9,500 m
GPS altitude (confirmed)
Pressure-derived altitude
GPS-frozen phase
Confirmed float
Flight Path & Telemetry
Flight Path
Confirmed GPS fixes, implied drift during GPS freeze, and post-resume position updates. See the map legend for line styles.
- GPS ascent (confirmed fixes)
- Implied drift while GPS frozen
- Post-resume track (unique positions)
Temperature
Degrees C vs time from launch
Pressure Trace
hPa vs time — float plateau at ~285 hPa
Mission Timeline
Launch · T+0 · 734 m · 37.73°N 122.43°W
Avg ascent 0.70 m/s · within target 0.5–1.0 m/s
GPS freeze · T+145 min · locked at 6,924 m · under 3 satellites
Float confirmed · T+211 min · 285.7 hPa · 9,491 m barometric
GPS resumed · T+421 min · 9,744 m · San Nicolas Island area · position then stale across repeated readings
Last fix · 32.01°N 117.72°W · near Tijuana / San Diego border