Pointing Payload for Single Tether Balloons, and Other Projects.
Abstract
A two-axis, pointing-type payload has been built that can be flown at Hollman Air Force Base on currently available balloons, using launch facilities and launch methods now being employed there. When attached to the flying lines of an aerodynamically shaped ballon it will point toward a target light on the ground in a daylight operation with a precision of + or - 0.75 deg when elevated to 10,000 feet. Heading of the payload axis is commandable from the ground, and target acquisition is aided by a search feature. The system was successfully tested in September 1981 while carrying a hitchhike experiment that measured IR transmission through the atmosphere. Other work accomplished under the contract included the assembly and modification of four smart valves, the fabrication of five Tufts-type payload releases for use by AFGL, assebling the facts and analyzing the probable reason why an insulating tether failed in Germany with a load of only 3 per cent of the breaking strength of the cable, and studying the problems involved in stabilizing two six-foot dish-type antennas held at the apex of a four-tether balloon arrangement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 26, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA114447
Entities
People
- Alvin H. Howell
Organizations
- Tufts University