Technical Specs
The Limitations Section contains weather and temperature ratings, along with tips for operating in harsh environments.
Power
Power is provided by two Freefly SuperLight batteries. Learn more about SuperLight batteries in the Freefly wiki.
Use only Freefly SuperLight batteries. Use of other batteries will likely cause damage to Astro and the batteries.
The aircraft evaluates battery level from the State of Charge (e.g. 72%), not voltage (e.g. 23 Volts).
The battery voltage bus runs between 18 and 25.2 volts. Connection to battery voltage is available via the I/O panel.
In an emergency, the aircraft is capable of flying and landing safely on one battery.
It is not possible to power the aircraft via the USB-C port.
Bench Mode: Astro will only arm (i.e. spin the motors) if 2 batteries are installed. When powering Astro for non-flying purposes (e.g. benchtop testing), connect only one battery.
Bench mode is not a substitute for the absolute safety of removing propellers.
Motors, Motor Drives, and Propellers
Astro features the F45 motor found on Alta 6 and 8 but with a larger 21 inch plastic prop. A larger prop was introduced to increase flight times given the lower nominal payload limit on Astro as compared to our larger drones.
The Freefly-developed motor drive is known internally as the Astro100 drive and is the fastest response field oriented control drive that we have ever tested. This response time is critical to achieving precise flight characteristics even with large props. The Astro100 drive can accelerate and decelerate the prop much faster than the original F45 drive used on Alta aircraft.
The props are 21" fiber reinforced plastic props which help lower vibration and and increase flight time.
Onboard Computer
Processor: 1.8 GHz Quad Cortex-A53 Memory: 4 GB RAM
Landing Sensor
The landing sensor is an IR Diode rangefinder with a range capability of approximately 9m.
This sensor is not appropriate for terrain following.
Powerplant
Motor Type
Freefly F45
Number of Motors
4
Motor Max Continuous Power
350 W
Motor Max Instantaneous Peak Power
500 W
Equivalent Kv
420 kV
Electronic Speed Controller
Freefly Silent-Drive Sine Wave ESC
Max RPM
3,500
Propellers
Material
Carbon Fiber Reinforced Nylon
Propeller Orientation
(2x) CW and (2x) CCW Props
Propeller Type
Folding - 553 x 178 mm (21 x 7 in)
Battery
Astro uses only Freefly SuperLight Batteries. Two batteries are needed per flight.
Nominal Battery Voltage (V)
21.6 Volts
Battery Capacity (Ah, each)
7.3 Ah
Batteries per flight
2
Flight Controller
Flight Controller Hardware
Freefly Custom Designed Skynode
Flight Controller Software
Auterion Enterprise PX4 (custom for Astro)
Mission Control Software
Auterion Mission Control
Online Fleet Management
Auterion Suite
Flight Modes
Manual, Altitude Hold, Position Hold, Return, Autonomous Mission,
Onboard Modules
Cortex-A53 Computer, LTE
Connectivity
Wifi, USB C, LTE (North America)
Supported Radios
Herelink
Supported GNSS
L1/L2 bands for GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and Galileo
Radio Control
For more information on the Radio, please visit our Pilot Pro Radio Specs
Misc
Orientation Lights
Boom tip mounted lights
Orientation Light Color Options
Colors can be set in software - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, off
Why Sardines in the Astro Case?
Well, a bunch of reasons really...
Sardines are fun!
Sardines are packed with protein and fat (keeps you strong, happy, and sharp!)
Sardines help you stay in shape (they have an excellent protein-to-energy ratio)
Sardines are what we often eat at Freefly during our most intense development pushes since they are fast, tasty, and keep us nourished
Sardines keep forever
Sardines are packed in a tough container
Sardines will keep you alive if the crew forgets to pick you up after a day of filming
Sardines can be used to barter for other goods
Sardines make us smile
Sardines make you smile
Sardines give us an excuse to start talking, which leads to us becoming friends
Sardines are lindy
Last updated