A New Low-Power IoT Telemetry Platform for Stratospheric Balloons Using LoRa and Cloud Integration

Abstract

This article presents the design and implementation of a low-power, long-range telemetry platform for stratospheric balloon applications, based on LoRa wireless communication and IoT protocols. The proposed system consists of three modular components: (1) a Space Station (payload) equipped with sensors (MPU6050 accelerometer/gyroscope, MPL3115A2 barometer, BMM150 magnetometer, and NEO-7M GPS) for real-time environmental and positional monitoring; (2) a Ground Station that receives data via LoRa and transmits it via MQTT to a cloud server; and (3) an Oracle VPS server for data processing, MySQL database storage, and interactive visualization through web-based dashboards. The shield-type modular architecture ensures system scalability and adaptability.Field tests validated the system’s robustness in controlled environments, achieving stable inter-station communication and efficient energy consumption with a 14,000 mAh battery. Sensor integration and data integrity were verified through synchronized measurements, while the cloud dashboard enabled real-time visualization and historical analysis of atmospheric parameters. Key limitations include reliance on terrestrial internet connectivity and pending validation in actual flight conditions. Results demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness for atmospheric research, providing low-latency telemetry with minimal energy consumption.This work highlights the potential synergy between LoRa and MQTT in aerospace IoT applications, offering a scalable and cost-effective framework for academic and industrial use. Future efforts will focus on antenna optimization, flight simulations, and edge computing enhancements to reduce internet dependency.