iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The team working on a new technique for solo hatch closing on the submarine.

johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

3D Printing an SR-71 engine intake spike. (just a little one). An interesting piece of tech.

johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/pQP5S... This is a 30 second short of the longer Project Hazel documentary we did a few weeks ago.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/aV1iW... The 54-ft diameter balloon bursting at 100K ft from the Away 69 mission. The burst is how we get back down. We control the burst height by the amount of helium we put in the balloon. Control the burst & you control where you land

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/BXrDZ... When you really, really need to get the chute out.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

New Video! youtu.be/zsoPz1cSCvM?... Hazel, the forgotten competitor to the SR-71 Blackbird.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Last night the team made and tested two air beam inner cells. These are for an experimental modification to the Ellipse airship.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Hazel Hypersonic aircraft being launched from the SuperTandem high altitude airship. (stills from the upcoming hazel video)

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Turbulence in the Persian Gulf. We're flown in a lot of places. Here we are at 110,000 feet above the Persian Gulf. The vehicle is a rocking! Note: The Earth should be down, not up and the balloon never seen in the horizon cam.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Artists concept: Our Super Tandem airship at 160,000 feet.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Dark Sky Station floating high in the Martian atmosphere.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Submarine Launch! We actually take it pretty slow. This is sped up 4x and the holds for checks removed.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Submarine launch prep begins the night before. Predeployment checklists are completed, the equipment is staged and the truck gases up. We're ready for the morning drive to the marina.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Can you hear me now? Cell phones at 110,000 feet. These were from a group of missions we flew for Samsung in 2011.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Midnight recovery of the Away 121 balloon vehicle.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

This is our quad autopilot test platform. This lets us test and work on the autopilot systems for the balloon platform return vehicles. The return vehicles won't be quads but it's a very useful tool for working things out.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Shadows: The first is the shadow of Away 118 (under balloon) just after launch. The second is the shadow of Away 118 (under parachute) just before landing.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

From the deck of Away 56. I love clouds from the edge of space.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

To start your morning. Available today! dark-sky-market.myshopify.com/collections/...

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Balloon burst aboard the Away 118 balloon platform. This mission carried university payloads from California & Mexico back in 2015. These were some of the participants. We can always cut away the balloon on command but I like to push up as high as I can to get those last few feet.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Just a little experiment in low cost object recognition on a drone. We mounted a Google Vision Object Recognition kit on a small drone. This a baby step toward UAV's being able to see & avoid other aircraft. This will go on our airships.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Hybrid plasma engine development. Where we are, where we're going.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

We're in full mission prep for Away 136. Last night we did telemetry tests, checklist run throughs and the very exiting washing the truck.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The three stages of Airship to Orbit. Ascender Load: Ground to 140,000 feet, Dark Sky Station: Floating port at 140,000 feet. H1 Ascender: Dark Sky Station to orbit and back.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

New Video! Winter Launch youtu.be/HlzvhUnKNto?...

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/q-79b... Now and again, I get the privilege of judging a student rocket launch. The future is in good hands.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

We just finished our engineering model of the 1959 Hazel MC-10. This one is destined for the low-speed wind tunnel and videos. We're making smaller one for our Mach 4 wind tunnel.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Celina and John testing submarine valves. We found that a balloon puts just the right amount of pressure on a ballast vent valve to simulate the sub on the surface. Put the filled balloon on one end and dunking the valve in water is a great way to hunt down those sneaky low pressure valve leaks.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Solar for the Argo! The team installed a solar panel on our balloon recovery vehicle last night. The solar will supply power to an auxiliary battery for the radio, interior coolers and provide charging for camera equipment.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New Video! youtu.be/TztC7wYkME0?... A day in the desert. Doing commerce at the edge of space.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I'm working on a new video about Project Hazel. Hazel was Inflatable Mach 3 aircraft, 1959. Extensively studied, engine, wing and subsystems built, lost to SR-71 Blackbird and never flew.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

New Video! youtu.be/r7wsmUCr8iA?... The launch of the Mesospheric Explorer

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

New Video Short! youtube.com/shorts/iIDzL... Away 121 Balloon mission up top.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

New MHD electrodes. These are the molds with the copper plate installed. High strength bolt cement will be cast into printed mold around the copper. We break the plastic away then the electrode will be ready to install in the MHD unit. These are for a pair of high current tests.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Tip for school presentations. Bring a rocket and have the students carry it in from your car. It's amazing how many astronauts you can create in one day.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

From Toy Nebula Tales www.facebook.com/ToyNebulaTal...

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

New Video: youtu.be/now2LwDegs8?... A quick peek at making high altitude propellers.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/QBPjI... Electrode test getting ready for MHD plasma engine test firing #143.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

You need to play sometimes too. www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...

facebook.com

Facebook

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

The moment of ignition of RF induction motor test firing.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

The team prepping the rocket for the gliding parachute test flight. The rocket carried 2 on board cameras, an altimeter, a radio receiver and controller for the gliding parachute. We are testing the system for future use on our high-altitude balloons to help recovery

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Powering up. MHD block firing 141 on our little red wagon test stand.

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

New Video! youtube.com/shorts/kyH1T... We used a rocket to test a gliding flyback parachute. It is destine to bring back our balloon platforms from 100,000 feet.

youtube.com

Testing a steerable parachute at 1,600ft #balloon #test #shorts

YouTube video by John Powell

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johnmpowell.bsky.social @johnmpowell.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

The team is home safe and sound. We had a big push at Area 42 last weekend. Seven plasma engine tests, 3 rocket flights testing a gliding parachute and a lot of site work getting ready for the Away 136 balloon mission.

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