1 / 28

Overview of the Development of the Pathfinder Ultra Long Duration Balloon System

Overview of the Development of the Pathfinder Ultra Long Duration Balloon System. Magdi A. Said 1 , David Stuchlik 2 , Brian Corbin 3 , Michael Smolinski 4 , Brian Abresch 5 , Christopher Shreves 6 , and Robert Stancil 7 , Henry M. Cathey, Jr. 8 , Scott Cannon 9

beau
Download Presentation

Overview of the Development of the Pathfinder Ultra Long Duration Balloon System

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Overview of the Development of thePathfinder Ultra Long Duration Balloon System Magdi A. Said1, David Stuchlik2, Brian Corbin3, Michael Smolinski4, Brian Abresch5, Christopher Shreves6, and Robert Stancil7, Henry M. Cathey, Jr.8, Scott Cannon9 1,2,3,4,5,6 NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center / Wallops Flight Facility, VA 23337, U.S.A. 8Physical Science Laboratory, New Mexico State University, / Wallops Flight Facility, VA 23337, U.S.A. 9 Physical Science Laboratory, New Mexico State University, NM U.S.A. COSPAR02-A-01698; PSB1-0016-02

  2. Objectives of the Work • Build small test balloons (Pathfinder) to assist in the development of performance models for future ULDB flights. • Develop and validate an Iridium based communication system to support the pathfinder balloon missions. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  3. Scope • Initial series of trade studies conducted for the development of the Pathfinder balloon. • Design concept of the Iridium based communication package. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  4. Balloon System Trade Studies* * For payload mass of 90.7 kg and 15% free lift 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  5. Highlights of the Trade Studies • The Pumpkin balloon design is heavier than a zero pressure balloon design for the same volume. • Increasing the gore width and film thickness, reducesnumber of gores and hence production time, but leads to significant increases in the balloon weight and volume. • The volume of the balloon for a lower float altitude is smaller, but requires more gores. • The cost of the balloon increases as the total seam length increases. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  6. Development of the Iridium Electronic Package 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  7. The Iridium Electronic Package was developed to enable global communications to and from a balloon platform through the Iridium constellation of satellites 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  8. Advantages • Global Coverage • No Transmission Delay • Low Development and Operational Cost • Low Power (LEO) • Compact and Light Weight 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  9. Name Origin ? Iridium Dysprosium 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  10. Brief History • 1987 – Concept proposed, R&D begins • 1988 – Gateway concept is developed • 1990 – Iridium system formally announced • 1991 – Motorola incorporates Iridium as a separate company • 1993 - 96 Iridium company secured funding for the project • 1996 – Motorola completed and delivered first satellite • 1997 – Iridium places 47 satellites into orbit successfully • 1998 – Iridium completes the constellation of 66 satellites – Iridium enters commercial service (November 1st) 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  11. Iridium: Facts 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  12. Comparison with other systems 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  13. Requirements: Operation • Test and validate for balloon environment • Global Coverage • Redundant system • Duration: 5 to 7 days 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  14. Requirements: Power • Electrical Subsystem: • Power source for 7 days • Power distribution to all components/subsystems • Data Acquisition/Command Subsystems: • Interface between sensors and telemetry subsystems • Decode/execute commands initiated from ground station 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  15. Requirements: Data Handling/Transmission Acquire and transmit the following parameters: • Global Positioning System Data • Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude • Heading, Horizontal and Vertical Speeds • Time Stamp • Sensor Data • Ambient Air Temperature • Component Temperatures • Battery and Bus Voltages 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  16. Requirements: Ground Station • Platform: • PC Based/Labtop • Connects to analog MODEM or to an Iridium L-Band Transceiver (LBT). • Software • Receive and process Iridium data • Make outgoing phone calls • Send uplink commands • Distribute the received data to the World Wide Web 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  17. Requirements: Ground Station (Cont.) • Data Handling • Perform engineering conversions as needed. • Store data in text or spreadsheet format. • Display most recent downlink packet. • Commanding: • Perform Internal Commands to control the operation of the ground station. • Ability to initialize the analog MODEM and/or the LBT. • Adjust the transmit intervals • Ability to reset or cycle power 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  18. How Iridium Works ? 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  19. IEP IRIDIUM Wallops Flight Facility ELECTRONIC PACKAGE IEP Communications Link IRIDIUM Constellation ULDB Balloon Remote Monitoring Internet IRIDIUM Gateway Land Line Iridium LBT Laptop PC Laptop PC MODEM Analog Line Mobile-to-Mobile Ground Station Mobile-to-Landline Ground Station 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  20. IEP IRIDIUM Wallops Flight Facility ELECTRONIC PACKAGE TOP VIEW Processor Board Boxes GPS Receivers BOTTOM VIEW Power Distribution Boards LBTs Thermistor Conditioning Box IEP Electronics Configuration • Two Independently Redundant Systems • Stand-Alone, Self-Contained Package 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  21. IEP IRIDIUM Wallops Flight Facility ELECTRONIC PACKAGE IEP Electronics Configuration To Antenna • Electronic Components • Iridium L-Band Transceiver (LBT) • Trimble Lassen LP GPS Receiver • Custom RS-232 Interface PCB • R.L.C. Magnum PLUS 188EB • R.L.C. 32 Channel A/D Card • Custom Power Distribution PCB • Thermistor Conditioning 4.4 V Iridium LBT To Antenna GPS Receiver 3.3 V Battery Backup GPS Interface 5 V Embedded Processor Power Card RS-232 5 V Primary Battery +/- 12 V A/D Converter To PC Analog Sensors Thermistor Conditioning 32 Digital I/O 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  22. Iridium package has been successfully test flown on board a balloon platform from Lynn Lake, Canada (August 2002) 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  23. Lynn Lake Test Flight • IEP was flown as a piggyback on AESOP payload from Lynn Lake, Canada. • Launch date: August 13, 2002 • Launch time: 00:46 UTC • Duration: 37.5 hours 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  24. Lynn Lake Test Flight(IEP Package Performance) • Both systems received commands and transmitted data as follows: • System 1: although it was non-responsive just prior to launch, it did operate during a portion of the ascent phase (from 804 m to 24436 m). • System 2: operated as designed just prior to launch, during the ascent phase, and at float. • Both systems were recovered in good operational condition and shipped back to Wallops for post flight analysis. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  25. Lynn Lake Test Flight(Post Flight Assessment) • The LBT and the GPS receiver functioned properly as designed. • The intermittent voltage problem was eventually traced to a loose lead which carried the 5V to the processor board. The lead was replaced. • System 1 has since functioned as designed for 120+ hours. • System 2 has continued to function as designed. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  26. IEP is Scheduled to fly on board NightGlow Payload from Alice Springs, Australia Latter This Year IEP Location 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  27. Preparation for the Alice Springs, Australia Flight • Mechanical and electrical integration went well. • No interference with other systems on board the payload EXCEPT Inmarsat (software was designed with that in mind) 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

  28. Concluding Remarks • The design of Pathfinder balloons requires a delicate balance between requirements, design parameters and cost. • The Iridium based communication system has been successfully implemented on a balloon platform • Iridium will allow data transmission at a much lower rates than existing rates for geo-stationary based systems. • The system can expedite the development of the ULDB vehicle by lowering the cost of support package and communication cost. 34th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

More Related