Case: M1 Music Awards
Launch summary
250,000 people.
TICKET DRAW
PURPOSE OF THE PROMOTION
27 КМ (85,5k ft)
Maximum altitude
147 KM / H
MAXIMUM SPEED
155 min
FLIGHT TIME
82 km
DISTANCE
CENTRAL UKRAINE
LOCATION
15.11.2018
LAUNCH DATE
M1 statuette
Focal Object
M1 TV channel
CUSTOMER
Launch video
CASE DESCRIPTION
About 250 thousand people watched “The first M1 space mission”. M1, ICTV and a number of Ukrainian media outlets covered the launch in their stories.
During the M1 broadcast, 10 tickets to the M1 Music Awards 2018 concert were raffled among those who guessed the altitude the balloon would reach.
The HAB rose to 27 kilometers (3 times higher than civilian aircraft fly), flying 82 kilometers from takeoff to landing. The mission was successfully completed, and 10 lucky winners attended the concert.
This launch was special for several reasons:
1. The entire country had the opportunity to observe the preparation process and flight of the M1 HAB to and from outer space.
2. This is the first time we’ve worked with television.
Preparation
The time frame was short: we had no more than 3 weeks. During this time, we, together with experts from the FabLab laboratory, created a design that delivered the M1 Music Awards statuette to the stratosphere.
Ultra-precise 3D printing, state-of-the-art materials, hollow and lightweight parts made it possible to create a suitable launch base.
Slight turbulence is expected
Acrylic blocks with the logos of the companies “Alight” and “PROFI” engraved on them looked spectacular in the frame, but due to their size and placement, they drastically worsened the HABs aerodynamics.
The wind speed in some layers of the atmosphere reaches 180-200 km/h. Regular flights use such air currents to their advantage: a tailwind “picks up” the aircraft, saving fuel.
On a HAB, these currents have a negative effect, twisting and swinging the structure.
“The wind was strong, so strong that the launch had to be postponed to the next day“
Rescheduling the launch
As we expected, on the launch day, the wind was strong, so strong that the flight had to be postponed to November 15.
On the one hand, this coincided with the presentation of statuettes to cultural and TV figures, on the other hand, we had no spare day and no room for error.
The flight had to go exactly according to plan. The launch was broadcast live on the M1 TV channel and on its Facebook page with 95,600+ subscribers.
Ukrainian pop stars were invited to the M1 studio, and a mission control center was set up in the channel’s control room. Everyone was looking forward to the launch.
Meanwhile, 250 km from Kyiv, the Strato team and the M1 production team, who seemed to be a thousand percent ready, faced new difficulties.
The weather, like the day before, left much to be desired. The wind mercilessly battered the balloon, pressing the helium-filled latex shell to the ground, and gray clouds threatened to burst with rain or snow.
«The ascent rate was close to 5 meters per second despite the strong crosswind.»
After waiting for the wind to subside, we sought final approval for the launch from the Ukraerocenter and the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine, and after receiving a positive response, we launched the HAB.
Despite the strong crosswind, the ascent rate was the planned 5 m/s. A minute after launch, the balloon dived into the clouds, and after a while, the onboard cameras showed a white haze, blue sky and bright rays of the sun – the first layer of clouds was passed.
Chase
After installing the antenna on the roof of the car and wasting no time, we headed south.
Tracking the HAB and locating the landing site are the most difficult stages of a launch. The HAB regularly transmitted its telemetry, and we saw how, where, and how fast it was moving. The onboard cameras broadcast the image smoothly.
Our team drove directly under the HAB until a strong air current at an altitude of 8-9 km began to carry it forward at a speed of 147 km/h, and we gradually fell behind. The acrylic blocks acted like sails, lifting and spinning the structure in the gusts of wind.
Communication with the probe became intermittent, and from time to time we received empty messages from the onboard radio beacon.
We had an hour and a half of flight time behind us, and we could only hope that all the systems were working properly and that the second beacon would transmit the exact coordinates of the landing site.
From the readings, we realized that the shell had ruptured and the HAB was now diving down from an altitude of 27 km.
As it descends, the air density increases and it is time for the onboard parachute, which gradually slows the probe down to 4-5 m/s.
Our rule: install several beacons and a couple of cameras in the box. This minimizes the risk of losing communication and flight data. The main task is to find the HAB.
After 2 hours, the probe landed and the broadcast stopped, but the Cosmos Agency Strato team and the M1 production team continued along the route to the landing site.
«The HAB landed a few kilometers from the planned landing area»
Final scene
The parachute successfully opened and this guaranteed the softest possible landing. Judging by the picture from the onboard cameras, the HAB landed in the middle of a field, a few kilometers from the planned landing area – this is a good result, much better than in a body of water or a restricted area.
Night had already fallen by the time we arrived. All around were darkness, fields and the one narrow country road we had arrived on.
Thanks to the illuminated acrylic blocks, our probe glowed like a lighthouse in the middle of an endless sea. We waited for the production team and moved in the direction of the HAB.
Having filmed the final scene of finding the HAB, the channel’s production team went back to Kyiv; we turned off the onboard cameras, packed up and joined them.
Summary of events
After flying 82 kilometers from the launch site, the M1 Music Awards HAB landed in another region, overtaking a cyclone that was moving from the west, at times reaching speeds of up to 147 km/h.
Memory
The launch was more than successful, about 250,000 people across Ukraine watched the flight in real time, and many celebrities visited the M1 studio, among whom we would especially like to mention Oleh Skrypka (frontman of the band VV).
“Leonid Kadeniuk was the first and only cosmonaut of independent Ukraine. While performing the NASA STS-87 mission, he took a CD by the then young Ukrainian band “VV” with him into space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia”
Especially because back in 1997, Leonid Kadeniuk, the first and only cosmonaut of independent Ukraine, taking part in the NASA STS-87 mission, took a CD by the then young Ukrainian band VV with him into space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia.
We dedicated one of the previous launches to the memory of Leonid Kadeniuk, but unfortunately the flight video was not preserved. Only footage of the launch process taken by Fundamental Production remained. However, we are going to repeat this memorable launch.
Result
About 250 thousand people watched “The first M1 space mission”. The ICTV channel covered the launch in its story. During the broadcast, the M1 TV channel raffled 10 tickets to the M1 Music Awards 2018 concert among those who correctly guessed the altitude the balloon would reach.
The HAB climbed to more than 27 kilometers (3 times higher than civilian aircraft fly), flying 82 kilometers from takeoff to landing. The mission was successfully completed, 10 lucky winners attended the concert, and we are waiting for the second M1 space mission!
Acknowledgment
We express our gratitude to the management and production team of the M1 TV channel, as well as the state company Ukraerocenter for their assistance with this launch.
«Thank you!! Everything was cool»
— Serhii Pertsev, general director of M1 and M2 TV channels
Case: Nuka Stationery
Nuka is a startup created by three Ukrainian students, that produces everlasting stationery. A pen that writes with metal oxide and a notebook made of polymer paper conquered the stratosphere and returned to Earth, reaching an altitude of 31 km.
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 everyone. Another of our priorities is developing the aerospace sector in Ukraine and abroad.
Address in Kyiv:
3-a Leiptsyzka St., Kyiv
Workshop:
Unit City, 1 Dorohozhytska St., Kyiv
