EFFINGHAM, Ill. - eTradeWire -- Aerostratospheric, an Illinois nonprofit that flies open science balloon missions and publishes atmospheric data for public reuse, today pointed reporters to xAirship, a 6 m (20 ft) high grade PVC aerostat, and other xPrototypes bench units.

xPrototypes are Aerostratospheric's shop lab for bench and flight train pieces. The catalog systems stay separate: X2Griffon, the main up and down science balloon aimed near 115,000 ft, and x1Albatross, the long duration jetstream drift platform. The team tests hardware at altitude before it gets a full product page.

xAirship is the low altitude counterpart when a stratospheric profile is the wrong tool. Its 6 m (20 ft) high grade PVC envelope is filled from two 200 scf helium cylinders. It can fly tethered or under radio control while free balloon platforms handle vertical profiles and jetstream drift.

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Other units on the xPrototypes bench include:

1. Lightweight radar reflector, about 87 g, made from intersecting foam core planes faced with heavy duty aluminum. It returns surface radar pulses from most aspects. First flight context: September 12 engineering flight train, private prep only.
2. Compact radar reflector, about 84 g, with the same geometry cut one inch smaller for radar cross section testing.
3. x2 data logger on the xFall2 failsafe pack. x2 is a USB temperature logger with 14,400 points and PDF and CSV output. xFall2 is the independent recovery and tracking pack flown on every mission.
4. xStratoInject release mechanism, a supervised cartridge trigger on an X2Griffon train. It is a controlled pulse study path with abort leaving the cartridge sealed, not an operational climate control system.

Radar reflectivity practice on the flight train follows the spirit of 14 CFR 101.35 for Subpart D operations. A corner reflector under 100 g remains good practice for visibility.

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Public mission products and atmospheric releases continue through xDataHub after recovery. Public STEM coverage for the September 19, 2026 X2Griffon maiden science day in Casey remains on the community calendar. The September 12 engineering window is private prep only.

About Aerostratospheric

Aerostratospheric is an Illinois nonprofit corporation. Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems operates as a limited partnership under Aerostratospheric, designing and flying lightweight balloon systems under FAA Part 101. Open atmospheric data is prepared for public reuse after recovery.

Media kit and platform pages:
https://midwestsds.com/xprototypes.html
https://midwestsds.com/platforms.html
https://midwestsds.com/press.html

Media contact:
Elena Vargas, Press and Communications
elena@midwestsds.com
https://midwestsds.com/contact/