Wallops Flight Facility Overview of the Development of

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Wallops Flight Facility Overview of the Development of the Pathfinder Ultra Long Duration Balloon

Wallops Flight Facility 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 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 8 NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center / Wallops Flight Facility, VA 23337, U. S. A. Physical 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. COSPAR 02 -A-01698; PSB 1 -0016 -02 October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

Wallops Flight Facility Objectives of the Work • Build small test balloons (Pathfinder) to

Wallops Flight Facility 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. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 2

Wallops Flight Facility Scope • Initial series of trade studies conducted for the development

Wallops Flight Facility Scope • Initial series of trade studies conducted for the development of the Pathfinder balloon. • Design concept of the Iridium based communication package. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 3

Wallops Flight Facility Balloon System Trade Studies* * For payload mass of 90. 7

Wallops Flight Facility Balloon System Trade Studies* * For payload mass of 90. 7 kg and 15% free lift October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 4

Wallops Flight Facility Highlights of the Trade Studies • The Pumpkin balloon design is

Wallops Flight Facility 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, reduces number 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. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 5

Wallops Flight Facility Development of the Iridium Electronic Package October 15, 2002 34 th

Wallops Flight Facility Development of the Iridium Electronic Package October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 6

Wallops Flight Facility The Iridium Electronic Package was developed to enable global communications to

Wallops Flight Facility The Iridium Electronic Package was developed to enable global communications to and from a balloon platform through the Iridium constellation of satellites October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 7

Wallops Flight Facility Advantages • Global Coverage • No Transmission Delay • Low Development

Wallops Flight Facility Advantages • Global Coverage • No Transmission Delay • Low Development and Operational Cost • Low Power (LEO) • Compact and Light Weight October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 8

Wallops Flight Facility Name Origin ? Iridium Dysprosium October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR

Wallops Flight Facility Name Origin ? Iridium Dysprosium October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 9

Wallops Flight Facility Brief History • • 1987 – Concept proposed, R&D begins 1988

Wallops Flight Facility 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 1 st) October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 10

Wallops Flight Facility Iridium: Facts Satellites 66 + 6 Orbital Planes 6 Spot Beams/

Wallops Flight Facility Iridium: Facts Satellites 66 + 6 Orbital Planes 6 Spot Beams/ Satellite 48 (each 30 miles in diameter) Orbital Height 780 km (485 miles) - LEO Satellite Weight 689 kg (1500 Lbs. ) Satellite Lifetime 7 -9 Years Voice and Data Transmission Rate 2. 4 kb/sec October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 11

Wallops Flight Facility Comparison with other systems Iridium Inmarsat-C TDRS Global Near global Hardware

Wallops Flight Facility Comparison with other systems Iridium Inmarsat-C TDRS Global Near global Hardware Cost Very Low Medium High Transmission Cost Very Low High Power Requirments Very Low High Transmission Rate 2. 4 kb/sec 0. 6 kb/sec (Omni); 150 kb/sec (high gain) Transmission Real time Delay Real time LEO Geostationary Coverage Orbit October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 12

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Operation • • October 15, 2002 Test and validate for

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Operation • • October 15, 2002 Test and validate for balloon environment Global Coverage Redundant system Duration: 5 to 7 days 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 13

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Power • • Electrical Subsystem: – Power source for 7

Wallops Flight Facility 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 October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 14

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Data Handling/Transmission Acquire and transmit the following parameters: – Global

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

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Ground Station – Platform: – – – PC Based/Labtop Connects

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Ground Station – Platform: – – – PC Based/Labtop Connects to analog MODEM or to an Iridium L-Band Transceiver (LBT). Software – – October 15, 2002 Receive and process Iridium data Make outgoing phone calls Send uplink commands Distribute the received data to the World Wide Web 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 16

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Ground Station (Cont. ) – Data Handling – – Perform

Wallops Flight Facility Requirements: Ground Station (Cont. ) – Data Handling – – Perform engineering conversions as needed. Store data in text or spreadsheet format. Display most recent downlink packet. Commanding: – – October 15, 2002 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 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 17

Wallops Flight Facility October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002

Wallops Flight Facility October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 18

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Communications Link IRIDIUM Constellation ULDB Balloon Remote Monitoring Internet IRIDIUM

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Communications Link IRIDIUM Constellation ULDB Balloon Remote Monitoring Internet IRIDIUM Gateway Land Line Iridium LBT Laptop PC MODEM Analog Line Mobile-to-Mobile Ground Station 34 th COSPAR Mobile-to-Landline Ground Station October 15, 2002 Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 19

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Electronics Configuration TOP VIEW Processor Board Boxes GPS Receiver s

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Electronics Configuration TOP VIEW Processor Board Boxes GPS Receiver s BOTTOM VIEW Power Distribution Boards LBTs Thermistor Conditioning Box Two Independently Redundant Systems Stand-Alone, Self-Contained Package October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 20

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Electronics Configuration Electronic Components Iridium LBT Iridium L-Band Transceiver (LBT)

Wallops Flight Facility IEP Electronics Configuration Electronic Components Iridium LBT Iridium L-Band Transceiver (LBT) 4. 4 V To Antenna Trimble Lassen LP GPS Receiver Custom RS-232 Interface PCB GPS Receiver GPS Interface R. L. C. Magnum PLUS 188 EB 3. 3 V 5 V R. L. C. 32 Channel A/D Card Battery Backup Custom Power Distribution PCB Thermistor Conditioning Embedded Processor RS-232 Power Card 5 V +/- 12 V To PC A/D Converter Primary Battery Analog Sensors October 15, 2002 32 Digital I/O 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 Thermistor Conditioning 21

Wallops Flight Facility Iridium package has been successfully test flown on board a balloon

Wallops Flight Facility Iridium package has been successfully test flown on board a balloon platform from Lynn Lake, Canada (August 2002) October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 22

Wallops Flight Facility Lynn Lake Test Flight • IEP was flown as a piggyback

Wallops Flight Facility 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 October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 23

Wallops Flight Facility Lynn Lake Test Flight (IEP Package Performance) • Both systems received

Wallops Flight Facility 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. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 24

Wallops Flight Facility Lynn Lake Test Flight (Post Flight Assessment) • The LBT and

Wallops Flight Facility 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 5 V 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. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 25

Wallops Flight Facility IEP is Scheduled to fly on board Night. Glow Payload from

Wallops Flight Facility IEP is Scheduled to fly on board Night. Glow Payload from Alice Springs, Australia Latter This Year IEP Location October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 26

Wallops Flight Facility Preparation for the Alice Springs, Australia Flight • Mechanical and electrical

Wallops Flight Facility 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) October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 27

Wallops Flight Facility Concluding Remarks • • The design of Pathfinder balloons requires a

Wallops Flight Facility 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. October 15, 2002 34 th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Houston, Texas 2002 28