The COSI cryostat was positioned at the top of a three-tier solar-oriented
gondola whose instrument axis was fixed toward the zenith. The 2016 gondola
was 1.5 × 1.5 × 2.2 m (~5 × 5 × 7 ft) not counting solar panels and antenna
booms, weighed 1,338 kg (2,950 lb) and was flown with 181 kg (400 lb) of
suspended ballast. In order to withstand the thermal variations in flight, the top
two tiers were encased in 2.5 cm (1 in) extruded polystyrene foam and a layer
of aluminized Mylar. The solar panels were fixed in orientation and the batteries had a capacity of 480 amp-hours. A rotator provided rough solar pointing in
order to charge the arrays. The COSI instrument had no pointing requirements,
but data from two onboard GPS systems and a magnetometer permitted an
accurate reconstruction of its location and pointing during the flight. A flight
computer controlled the basic operations of the gondola. On-board storage of
raw data and housekeeping was done using three redundant 1 Tb flash drives.
Two Iridium OpenPort antennas were used to telemeter scientific and housekeeping data in real-time.
The Raven SPB, designated as flight 669NT was launched from Wanaka, NZ
on May 16, 2016 by the dynamic method. It started by floating westwards
(towards Australia) before shifting to a lower latitude and heading with the
prevailing wind to the east. The balloon achieved a full circumnavigation inside
14 days, and then spent much of the remaining flight fairly stagnant above the
South Pacific Ocean. Altitude drops during cold nights, concern for the health
of the balloon, and the aim to recover both it and the payload led to flight termination on July 2nd. The payload and balloon landed 200 km (124 mi) northwest of Arequipa in Peru and were retrieved on July 14th in good condition.
The scientific objectives were the positron annihilation line produced by galactic sources, the diffuse emission of stellar nuclear lines, and the polarization of
compact objects.
For a 1:21 minute video of the COSI launch, go to:
https://youtu.be/sXeGFR5L9JM
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the COSI flight that had been scheduled for 2020
was postponed to 2021.
7.5.3 GUSTO
NASA is scheduled to launch the Galactic/extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic
Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) mission from Antarctica in December 2021. At
$40 million, it will be the most expensive payload ever launched using a NASA
balloon. The goal is to measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is
the cosmic material found between stars.
7.5 Recent and Future Flights 167
gondola whose instrument axis was fixed toward the zenith. The 2016 gondola
was 1.5 × 1.5 × 2.2 m (~5 × 5 × 7 ft) not counting solar panels and antenna
booms, weighed 1,338 kg (2,950 lb) and was flown with 181 kg (400 lb) of
suspended ballast. In order to withstand the thermal variations in flight, the top
two tiers were encased in 2.5 cm (1 in) extruded polystyrene foam and a layer
of aluminized Mylar. The solar panels were fixed in orientation and the batteries had a capacity of 480 amp-hours. A rotator provided rough solar pointing in
order to charge the arrays. The COSI instrument had no pointing requirements,
but data from two onboard GPS systems and a magnetometer permitted an
accurate reconstruction of its location and pointing during the flight. A flight
computer controlled the basic operations of the gondola. On-board storage of
raw data and housekeeping was done using three redundant 1 Tb flash drives.
Two Iridium OpenPort antennas were used to telemeter scientific and housekeeping data in real-time.
The Raven SPB, designated as flight 669NT was launched from Wanaka, NZ
on May 16, 2016 by the dynamic method. It started by floating westwards
(towards Australia) before shifting to a lower latitude and heading with the
prevailing wind to the east. The balloon achieved a full circumnavigation inside
14 days, and then spent much of the remaining flight fairly stagnant above the
South Pacific Ocean. Altitude drops during cold nights, concern for the health
of the balloon, and the aim to recover both it and the payload led to flight termination on July 2nd. The payload and balloon landed 200 km (124 mi) northwest of Arequipa in Peru and were retrieved on July 14th in good condition.
The scientific objectives were the positron annihilation line produced by galactic sources, the diffuse emission of stellar nuclear lines, and the polarization of
compact objects.
For a 1:21 minute video of the COSI launch, go to:
https://youtu.be/sXeGFR5L9JM
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the COSI flight that had been scheduled for 2020
was postponed to 2021.
7.5.3 GUSTO
NASA is scheduled to launch the Galactic/extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic
Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) mission from Antarctica in December 2021. At
$40 million, it will be the most expensive payload ever launched using a NASA
balloon. The goal is to measure emissions from the interstellar medium, which is
the cosmic material found between stars.
7.5 Recent and Future Flights 167