Robert Rochte and his class at Grosse Pointe Academy build advanced superpressure polyester solar balloons that are normally cylindrical. he just announced through the Balloon_Sked mailing group that he’s getting ready for another launch.
it will be carrying a KA2QPG HF beacon.
http://arhab.blogspot.com/
UPDATE:
postponed due to weather concerns and potential icing on it’s trans atlantic journey.
I’ve recently gotten in touch with Chris Fries in Chicago through the Balloon_Sked mailing list for amateur near space balloon missions. He’s not going to near space but what his setup is elegant, simple, and very low weight. He attaches a <3oz payload to some standard aluminized mylar party balloons, and his balloons blog for themselves reporting location, images, and video through PCS-band GSM/UMTS cellphone signals. I hope he posts a how-to on his setup. Launches here here and here.