On 20 June 2026, the eleventh launch of the Servet series was carried out from the sports pavilion of Quinto, in Zaragoza.
The balloon reached a maximum altitude of 34,269 meters and landed near Villamayor de Gállego after just over two hours of flight.
The launch took place from the Quinto sports pavilion at 12:34. Educational centers, volunteers, technicians from the collaborating entities, and local members of the public took part in the preparation and setup, closely following the inflation and release of the balloon.
Communication and monitoring systems fitted to the balloon
The capsule carried several instrumentation and tracking systems on board: multiple APRS transmitters, LoRa devices connected to the TTN (The Things Network) network, cameras, a SPOT GEN3 tracker, and pressure and altitude sensors.
Results, distance traveled and balloon monitoring via TTN
The balloon ascended at an average speed of 5.47 m/s, reaching its maximum altitude of 34,269 meters at 14:17, and began its descent assisted by parachute. The maximum fall speed recorded was 84.8 m/s (equivalent to 305 km/h), typical during the depressurization and bursting phase of the balloon. The capsule landed near Villamayor de Gállego at 14:46, in an agricultural area, and was recovered at coordinates 41.698350, -0.761410 at an altitude of 334 meters. Real-time tracking was carried out through various platforms, including predict.sondehub.org, and the signal was received by receivers distributed throughout the Iberian Peninsula, reaching TTN gateways located in France and North Africa, which highlights the reach of the LoRa coverage network at high altitudes.
The images obtained during the flight show the curvature of the Earth from the stratosphere, with the Ebro Valley and the surrounding mountain systems visible on the horizon. The altitude, pressure and telemetry data were recorded and are available for analysis.
The #SERVET project is part of the citizen science activity in the stratosphere carried out by the I3A (University Research Institute for Engineering in Aragón) of the University of Zaragoza, with the collaboration of Fundación Ibercivis in communication and outreach, Teconecta on the technological component, and the Ayuntamiento de Quinto as host site and local logistical support.