Around the world by balloon: an electrical perspective

A number of teams are currently attempting to become the first to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. In each case, their equipment must be capable of operating continuously, without malfunction, for over 500 hours. This is a significant engineering challenge, as the many failures to date have highlighted. The purpose of this paper is to outline some of these challenges, particularly in the electrical and communication engineering fields, and to examine the various solutions adopted by some of the main contenders in this the `last great aviation challenge'