QEOBS (Quantum Earth Observatory)

The balloon transported a prototype denominated QEOBS (Quantum Earth Observatory) aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of classical, quantum and hybrid machine learning onboard a CubeSat. With that array of sensors the team would be able to evaluate quantum & classical machine learning approaches on earth observation tasks, including atmospheric gravity wave measurements or multispectral image classification and segmentation. The experiment will demonstrate how on-board data processing and machine learning result in reduced downlink bandwidth.

The experiment was developed by Orion Labs, LLC a company based in Nunn, Colorado. The flight was sponsored by NASA under a initiative known as the TechLeap Prize that seeks to improve a variety of Earth and space-based capabilities, including detecting and tracking wildfires, identifying plumes of gas venting into Earth’s atmosphere, and precision tracking of small spacecraft positions in orbit. The prize was conducted by NASA under its Flight Opportunities program.

Balloon launched on: 7/28/2022 at 11:22 utc
Launch site: Raven Innovation Campus, Baltic, South Dakota, US  
Balloon launched by: Raven Aerostar
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon  
Flight identification number: HBAL601
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 7/28/2022 at 20:20 utc (L)
Balloon flight duration (F: time at float only, otherwise total flight time in d:days / h:hours or m:minutes - ): 8 h 55 m
Landing site: 20 km NW of Winner, South Dakota, US

• Interactive flight path of the balloon obtained via ADS-B Exchange
• NASA Selects Three Winners in Inaugural TechLeap Prize Challenge NASA website
• Orion labs website
• Raven Aerostar website