This paper is a record of some of the design and operational aspects of developing an affordable unmanned air system capable of logging and processing atmospheric observations across a range of altitudes. We consider the aeronautical and computational challenges of designing a recoverable and re-usable lighter-than-air system for delivering lightweight science payloads to the stratosphere and we examine the performance of the system through a physics-based Monte Carlo flight simulation model and the analysis of two test flights (ASTRA 7 and 8). We then review the development process to date of a self-recovering pay load, based on a lightweight, balloon (or aircraft) launched glider capable of autonomous return of the instruments to a preordained collection site. We also consider possible future extensions of the technology, including a multi-vehicle system designed to enable the construction of an emulator (surrogate model) of an atmospheric quantity across a specified block of airspace.
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