Manuscript

Rust-Based Ground Station Software for High Altitude Ballooning

Authors: Ayush Sahoo (Mercer University) , Kalp Patel (Mercer University) , Samhita Saragadam (Mercer University) , Anthony Choi (Mercer University) , Hunmin Kim (Mercer University)

Abstract

Over the past year, Mercer University’s HARP/NEBP team has designed and implemented HARP Tracker, a Rust-based ground station software solution for high-altitude balloon missions. With its origin as an alternative to HERMES, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’ ground station software, HARP Tracker aims to deliver fast and reliable position updates through both Iridium and APRS protocols. The software is written in Rust—a low-level, memory-safe language—to minimize runtime crashes while maintaining great performance. HARP Tracker features an intuitive UI that allows for ease of use while also offering very in-depth controls. Currently, the control features for ground antenna are in active development, with further plans to incorporate balloon floating and in-software camera streaming.

Keywords: #tracking, #ahac, #groundstation, #aprs, #iridium

How to Cite: Sahoo, A. , Patel, K. , Saragadam, S. , Choi, A. & Kim, H. (2025) “Rust-Based Ground Station Software for High Altitude Ballooning”, Academic High Altitude Conference. 2025(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/ahac.20116