MISSION STRATOS
Scientific experiment in collaboration with Canadian and French space agencies
In summer 2025, The Dorothy Project was selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the French Space Agency (CNES) to participate in the STRATOS program which provides academia and industry with an opportunity to test and validate new technologies and perform scientific experiments in a near-space environment.
On this occasion, we deployed a 11K ultra-high-definition 360° camera into the stratosphere, capturing some of the most precise images ever recorded at this altitude.
These high definition images will serve several purposes: they will give rise to the first immersive science-fiction film shot in the stratosphere, contribute to help CNES to improve their gondola and be part of an atmospheric scientific research conducted by the “Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique” (CNRS) who is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
LAUNCH BASE - Timmins CANADA
The ballon is filled with 150.000m3 of hélium.
Building Dorothy 8
It took eight months of research and development to build Dorothy version 8. This is our largest, heaviest, and most technologically advanced iteration yet: a 24 Kg aluminum structure capable of withstanding forces up to 7 Gs. It carries a modified INSTA360 Titan camera along with three additional smaller cameras, a spatial audio mic and a suite of sensors. Everything is controlled by dual redundant onboard computers, one seamlessly taking over if the other fails.
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Our programming team developed a software that lets us control the camera remotely, allowing us to adjust camera settings like brightness, iso, shutter speed, switch recording modes, and even get a live visual feed during the flight right at the Space Agency’s control center.
We designed and built a Stratospheric Remote Activation and Reboot Interface (SRARI), which allowed us to physically reboot the camera in case of a software failure. It served as the third layer of redundancy, ensuring we could recover from any system crash. We affectionately called it “the Canadian Finger”, a playful nod to the Canadarm, the iconic robotic arm aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The camera was repainted with the same space-grade coating used on the ISS. This special paint optimizes thermal control in the stratosphere, allowing the camera to handle the extreme temperature difference, a swing of about 120 degrees Celsius, between the sunlit side and the shaded side.
Behind the scene
Views from the gondola
The gondola that carried DOROTHY was operated by CNES. It weighed nearly 700 kg and carried around 10 scientific experiments on board. The gondola was remotely controlled, fully stabilized, and capable of solar pointing. It also had a communication system to stay in contact with the ground. The flight lasted 14 hours and reached a maximum altitude of 32 kilometers. The main balloon was filled with 150,000 m³ of helium.
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There is few HDR pictures taken by Dorothy just before sunset.
