Avionics and Power Management for Low-Cost High-Altitude Balloon Science Platforms

By National Aeronautics and Space Administration

High-altitude balloons (HABs) have become popular as educational and scientific platforms for planetary research. This document outlines key components for missions where low cost and rapid development are desired. As an alternative to ground-based vacuum and thermal testing, these systems can be flight tested at comparable costs. Communication, solar, space, and atmospheric sensing experiments often require environments where ground level testing can be challenging or impossible in certain cases. When performing HAB research the ability to monitor the status of the platform and gather data is key for both scientific and recoverability aspects of the mission. A few turnkey platform solutions are outlined that leverage rapidly evolving open-source engineering ecosystems. Rather than building custom components from scratch, these recommendations attempt to maximize simplicity and cost of HAB platforms to make launches more accessible to everyone. Chin, Jeffrey and Roberts, Anthony and McNatt, Jeremiah Glenn Research Center WBS 680465.05.01.03

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1793983283
• ISBN13: 9781793983282
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 26 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.5" x 11.0"