It would not be practicable to describe all of the various gondolas, but here is a
representative example described (in extract) by the University of Alabama at
Huntsville with support by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
1
A gondola that can carry a number of different scientific instruments on a
single balloon flight has been designed, manufactured and flown on a test
flight in support of NASA’s Exploration Program. The Deep Space Test Bed
(DSTB) facility was designed to utilize suborbital exposures on high altitude
balloons in Earth’s polar regions as a window to the ionizing radiation in
interplanetary space. The facility was designed to accommodate several science experiments and prototype instruments on a single integrated carrier that
provides the mechanical structure, power, telemetry and instrument operation
and control. The DSTB can support science investigations in all NASA disciplines: astrophysics, atmospheric, Earth, heliospheric and planetary sciences.
The National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) has laboratory
facilities and experienced personnel at MSFC and the University of Alabama
in Huntsville to support instrument integration and flight operations. The
DSTB is suitable for any launch site that NASA’s Balloon Program utilizes.
The DSTB was designed with simple and robust interfaces for mechanical,
power and communications systems that are widely used by investigators.
The simple interfaces give science teams without previous balloon flight
experience the ability to quickly conduct their investigation, and it provides
them with an introduction to scientific balloon operations.
The facility comprises the structural gondola, solar arrays or batteries for
power, and a power distribution system that manages power for the different
instruments. It has a flight data system with standard interfaces that transfers
the instrument data to the CSBF balloon instrument package for telemetry
and it controls and monitors the subsystems onboard. There is a ground support computer system that is used for testing during payload integration and
serves as the ground station during flight operations.
The DSTB is designed to accommodate a total payload mass of up to 1,800 kg
(4,000 lb). It is designed to support circumpolar flights in the Arctic and
Antarctic lasting up to a few weeks. It successfully completed an 8 hour test
flight in New Mexico with several science instruments, demonstrating its capabilities and readiness for Antarctic operations. There are several instrument
attachment points that provide different fields of view: skyward, nadir or horizon. It also has the capability to carry instruments on booms extended away
from the gondola as well as to sling instruments down below the gondola.
1
https://www.uah.edu/rsesc/projects/past/deep-space-test-bed
42 Balloon Elements
representative example described (in extract) by the University of Alabama at
Huntsville with support by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
1
A gondola that can carry a number of different scientific instruments on a
single balloon flight has been designed, manufactured and flown on a test
flight in support of NASA’s Exploration Program. The Deep Space Test Bed
(DSTB) facility was designed to utilize suborbital exposures on high altitude
balloons in Earth’s polar regions as a window to the ionizing radiation in
interplanetary space. The facility was designed to accommodate several science experiments and prototype instruments on a single integrated carrier that
provides the mechanical structure, power, telemetry and instrument operation
and control. The DSTB can support science investigations in all NASA disciplines: astrophysics, atmospheric, Earth, heliospheric and planetary sciences.
The National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) has laboratory
facilities and experienced personnel at MSFC and the University of Alabama
in Huntsville to support instrument integration and flight operations. The
DSTB is suitable for any launch site that NASA’s Balloon Program utilizes.
The DSTB was designed with simple and robust interfaces for mechanical,
power and communications systems that are widely used by investigators.
The simple interfaces give science teams without previous balloon flight
experience the ability to quickly conduct their investigation, and it provides
them with an introduction to scientific balloon operations.
The facility comprises the structural gondola, solar arrays or batteries for
power, and a power distribution system that manages power for the different
instruments. It has a flight data system with standard interfaces that transfers
the instrument data to the CSBF balloon instrument package for telemetry
and it controls and monitors the subsystems onboard. There is a ground support computer system that is used for testing during payload integration and
serves as the ground station during flight operations.
The DSTB is designed to accommodate a total payload mass of up to 1,800 kg
(4,000 lb). It is designed to support circumpolar flights in the Arctic and
Antarctic lasting up to a few weeks. It successfully completed an 8 hour test
flight in New Mexico with several science instruments, demonstrating its capabilities and readiness for Antarctic operations. There are several instrument
attachment points that provide different fields of view: skyward, nadir or horizon. It also has the capability to carry instruments on booms extended away
from the gondola as well as to sling instruments down below the gondola.
1
https://www.uah.edu/rsesc/projects/past/deep-space-test-bed
42 Balloon Elements